A phrase, ‘Basima Ogenze’, literally meaning, many appreciate in the long run, is one of the most metaphorically commonly used words used in Uganda to refer to those who wait to shower applause for all who never get applauded for their positive efforts in life not until they are dead or otherwise.
I will not wait for too late to shower my heart felt appreciation to all the media fraternity world over for they have exclusively covered Africa’s oldest football tournament – the 2013 Council for East and Central Africa Football Challenge Cup tournament that is climaxing on Thursday in Nairobi.
From the training pitches, team hotels, match grounds, press conferences to the locker-rooms, the respective media groups world over have done a great appreciative work.
For Starters, special credit goes to GOtv, the main sponsors of this biannual tourney, that gets together the nations from East and Central Africa region.
The African pay television giants sunk an amazing figure to have the game broadcast live across Africa and beyond. The CECAFA media Commission, headed by a Ugandan, Rogers Mulindwa has endeavored to avail the necessary team details well in time, ensuring the reporters work in the best conditions possible in the efforts of executing their work as they work to ‘beat’ station deadlines so that the general public gets the news on time and accurately.
Special thanks to all those media personalities who have been on ground (in Kenya) to cover the action as they dispatch the information accurately with urgency to the general public.
Various Media groups from the entire East and great lakes region were ably represented including one of the region’s leading sports website, www.kawowo.com for timely updates, previews, interviews, live match commentary, match reports and analysis of games as well.
Uganda sent in journalists from groups as New Vision, The Red Pepper, Daily Monitor, The Observer and Bukedde, while Zambia, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi, Tanzania and an avalanche of Kenyan reporters have been diligently executing their duties without fear or favour.
It has been overwhelming to work with independent, hardworking and committed crop of individuals that have also included international reporters from BBC and AFP.
The degree of unity and corporation has been overwhelmingly amazing thus far. The tourney Media Commission simplified tasks with regular press releases (both hard and soft copied), press briefings, well arranaged interviews with team technical personnel, transport to the various match venues and a well facilitated media center, among other incentives.
From Photo-journalists, Reporters, broadcast crews (radio and television commentators, presenters and analysts), Newspaper and magazine columnists, pundits, and all the other personnel involved in the media work, i just inhale and say, ‘Asante Ssana’.
