Ex-Netball Boss Babirye Wins Free Speech Whistleblowing Prize

The Blueprint for Speech prize, also awarded to North America and Europe, honours the bravery of whistleblowers who come forward in the public interest.

Jailed after exposing alleged corruption in Ugandan sports body, Blueprint for Speech said in its introduction of Sarah Babirye Kityo, whom it feted for her valiant pushback gainst corruption in the netball federation.

Ms Babirye, alongside five other Africans, share the Blueprint 2024 Africa Whistleblowing Prize.

The Blueprint for Speech prize, also awarded to North America and Europe, honours the bravery of whistleblowers who come forward in the public interest.

Ms Babirye found herself at the centre of an epic corruption fight involving top officials from the National Council of Sports and the netball federation.

Netball is one of the best performing sports in the country with the national team growing in strength to compete with the world's best nations.

She was not only thrown out of the UNF office but also in jail as her tormentors found back to silence her decisively.

After a stint in Luzira Prison, she was granted bail on December 1, 2023, and has since watched as everything she fought for stay "more of the same".

“I am not going to run away, however much they try to tarnish my image,” she told Blueprint for Free Speech, a non-profit charity that works internationally to promote the right to freedom of expression without undue interference or intrusion.

“I will clear my name and fight to defend people who went through what I am going through.”

Speaking to the NBS Sport about her award, Ms Babirye thanked the Blueprint for Free Speech for recognising her sacrifice and efforts.

"From prison to an award, I dedicate this award to each and every person who believes and believed in me," she said.

Hit hard

Ms Babirye shares the Africa prize with Nigerian doctors Egbuna Obidike and Vivian Muoneke, whose quick thinking averted the deaths of thousands of children worldwide by spotting that young patients in The Gambia were dying of kidney failure caused by toxic cough syrups.

the other Africans are Ravo Ramasomanana, a public health official Ravo Ramasomanana blew the whistle on corruption in the Malagasy health service, and Sarika Lakraj-Naidoo, a finance director who was fired after exposing municipal corruption in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The other winners from Africa are Mbuso Ngcobo, a chief whistleblower on corruption at the eThekwini metropolitan municipality in South Africa, with another South African, Dorothy Mmushi, who found herself embroiled in a huge corruption story at Eskom, South Africa’s national energy supplier, completing the hightable.

"As in previous years, the predominance of winners from Africa is indicative of the particularly harsh penalties whistleblowers face on the continent," Blueprint for Free Speech said.

Ms Babirye's drastic changes in trying to push reforms at UNF included introducing policies for whistleblowers and internal grievances, imposing financial controls, eliminating superfluous positions and placing the executive under the supervision of a board of trustees.

But these steps set her on a collision course with the National Council of Sports, a government body that superintends over sporting federations.

Her reforms empowered players to lodge grievances ranging from corruption to sexual harassment and stripped the sports council of its powers to hire and fire executives.

She has in the past said that when other federations showed signs of wanting to follow suit, she became a threat to the powerful council.

NCS General Secretary Patrick Ogwel was among those at the centre of Ms Babirye's woes. He had been fingered in massive kickback scandal in a report that legislators would mull over but ultimately do nothing about.

Legislators heard that in September 2021, Ogwel demanded a Shs40 million kickback after allocating Shs100 million for the nebtall team to take part in a tournament in South Africa.

Ms Babirye refused to pay the kickback, but would tell a parliamentary probe committee that her vice president, Richard Muhumza, provided Ogwel with Shs30 million meant for players’ allowances.

Mr Ogwel denied receiving the funds.

He later accused Babirye of misappropriating funds he had allocated for the team to play in a subsequent tournament held in Namibia. He refused to disburse more funds to the federation, including for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, pending the outcome of an investigation.

The same year a gang of armed men were captured on CCTV cameras breaking into Babirye’s residential compound. The family was not home.

In 2023, Ms Babirye went on the offensive. She appeared on television to say Mr Ogwel had repeatedly demanded kickbacks whenever he allocated funds to UNF.

She also brandished bank statements showing he had only provided Shs186 million for the Namibia trip, despite demanding that she account for Shs425 million.

The Ombudsman would investigate the matter and clear Ms Babirye of Ogwel's allegations that she had misappropriated the Namibian funds, calling it “false and malicious” and based on fabricated documents

It also ordered Ogwel to repay Shs100 million that were unaccounted for from the Namibian funds, and that Mr Muhumza, and the federation’s treasurer should account for or repay Shs30 million skimmed off player allowances during the South Africa tournament.

However, a week after the IGG issued its report exonerating Ms Babirye, First Lady Janet Museveni issued a directive ordering her to vacate her office for three months pending further investigations, including for financial mismanagement and player mistreatment.

"She was arrested and charged with fraud in a convoluted case that later turned out to be bogus, although she was forced to spend five nights in jail before being granted bail," Blueprint for Free Speech noted.

The charges were eventually withdrawn almost a year later after the complainant recanted.

“This was a deliberate strategy to tarnish my image in the public eye, cripple me financially and scare other whistleblowers from coming forward,” Ms Babirye said. “It was also meant to serve as a form of psychological intimidation.”

When she later tried to resume her duties, Ms Museveni, also the Education and Sports minister, issued a directive ordering funding for the federation to be frozen, and for Ms Babirye to be barred from returning until the criminal investigations against her were concluded.

Ms Babirye was arrested and charged with embezzling the Shs186 million Ogwel had allocated for the Namibia games. She was also accused of defaming Ogwel,

“I have fought enough, but these guys are still after me and my family,” she said after announcing she was giving up on netball entirely.

In late 2024, the Ugandan Netball Federation was dissolved and replaced with a new organisation called Netball Uganda.

Some of those appointed to work at the new entity were either found to have been involved in corruption by the IG or are alleged to have done so.

But now the world has feted her for standing out against corruption in one of the world's most corruption nations.

The awards are judged by Lord Hollick, Australian barrister James D Catlin and academic Dr Suelette Dreyfus.

The 2024 Whistleblower Prize winners share the £21,000 prize money and each receive a receive a specially designed trophy.