Dickens Otim was the hottest property when the volleyball transfer window opened on January 1 this year. Sport-S, Nemostars Sky and KAVC were all chasing his signature but Nkumba insisted the player wasn’t leaving.
By closure of the window 31 days later, Sport-S had won Otim’s heart but Nkumba refused to let go of their captain, as both teams accused each other of arrogance. According to a local news paper Daily Monitor, it took the intervention of Sadik Nasiwu the Uganda Volleyball Federation president who gave the player the go ahead to join Sport-S.
“People should just swallow their ego and let the player go where he wants to go,” Nasiwu told Daily Monitor. “We can’t put a national team player at ransom for a full month, I know am stepping on people’s toes but I have to execute my duties as the president for the good of volleyball,” he added
Otim played his first tournament for Sport-S last weekend leading them to the Ndejje Open were he tormented Nkumba in the final. Even with the intervention of UVF, Nkumba insists that Otim is still their player and he played illegally for Sport-S.
“It was illegal for Sport-S to play him, because we (Nkumba) didn’t agree on terms of his leaving,” a source said on grounds on anonymity. “We were in the initial stages of negotiations and it didn’t go far, Sport-S is living on assumptions because we haven’t released the player officially,” he added.
During the negotiations, between Sport-S, Nkumba and UVF, Nasiwu advised the former to at least offer something to Nkumba, despite the fact that Nkumba didn’t have a contract with Otim.
“We told them (Nkumba) to name his price and he refused, he even rejected the five balls we were giving him for the player,” Warren Muhangi a Sport-S administrator said. “They actually told us Otim is not for sell, he is not worth any number of balls or amount of money.”
“But since the federation has given us the green light, we will go on and register Otim in all our engagements,” Muhangi added. Otim is a two time Uganda Sports Press Association male volleyball player of the year and the Volleyball Cranes captain
Otim Fact file
Full Names: Dickens Otim
Age: 27 years
Position: centre blocker
National Caps: 9
Club debut: Nkumba Navy
Actual Club: Sport-S
Other sports: Handball, football, triple jumb
Honors
2009: National Club Championship with Nkumba Navy
2011: National Volleyball league with Nkumba Navy
2010: Uspa male volleyball player of the year
2011: Uspa male Volleyball player 0f the year
2011: UVF most valuable player
2012: UVF most valuable player
