Overview:
And when SC Villa finally ended its 20-year wait for the league title in 2024, David Owori was part of the historic achievement. He featured in the final match of the season against NEC—the game that ultimately confirmed Villa as champions.
Shaban Mwinda was the last serving SC Villa player to lose his life when he was tragically shot dead in 1985.
Forty-one years later, the SC Villa family is once again confronted with an unbearable tragedy. David Owori becomes the second serving player in the club’s history to lose his life while still an active member of the team—and, painfully, under circumstances almost as brutal.
For the SC Villa community, this is more than the loss of a footballer. It is the loss of a captain, a leader, a teammate and, to many, a brother. It is a wound whose pain will linger long after the mourning subsides.
I did not know David Owori at a personal level but on the three occasions I met and briefly interacted with him away from the pitch, I encountered a humble yet confident guy. Since his passing on Wednesday, 5 August 2026, countless tributes have painted an even broader picture of the person he was: disciplined, respectful, hardworking and deeply committed.
Within the SC Villa dressing room, he was much more than a player. He was a leader and motivator—someone who believed in his teammates regardless of their individual abilities and who consistently placed the interests of the team above himself.
The bustling SC Villa career
David Owori represented SC Villa for five and a half years, spread across two different spells. But to fully appreciate what he became at Villa, it is important to revisit the journey that brought him to the club.
His footballing foundations were laid at Wembley Academy, Nsambya Young Stars Academy and later Lukuli United. A promising young player, Owori, with the guidance of coach Richard Wasswa, made his first attempt to break into senior football at Vipers in 2015.
However, the competition within a star-studded Vipers side meant opportunities were limited and a year later, he moved to Proline, where he continued his development and remained until 2018.
The SC Villa switch – the first spell
The period immediately following the Misagga era remains arguably one of the darkest chapters in SC Villa’s history. The club was struggling for direction, the squad was depleted, morale was low and uncertainty seemed to define almost everything around the institution. Yet it was this time that David Owori chose to join SC Villa.
He arrived as a versatile footballer capable of operating in central midfield, on the right wing and at right-back, although midfield was where he featured most frequently during his initial spell.
His official SC Villa debut came on 28 September 2018, in a 2–2 draw away to Busoga United in the Uganda Premier League. While the season proved disappointing for the club collectively, Owori enjoyed a productive individual campaign, making 30 appearances—28 in the league and two in the Uganda Cup and scored once that season, the goal coming in the Uganda Cup against Lugazi Municipal FC.
The 2019/20 season brought renewed optimism. Villa finished third, with the season ultimately curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Owori was an important figure throughout the campaign, producing several impressive performances and scoring three league goals.
One moment remains particularly vivid: that unforgettable screamer against Wakiso Giants at Namboole.
His performances had begun to attract attention beyond the club. In 2020, Owori received a call-up to the Uganda Cranes under then head coach Jonathan McKinstry.
However, a new chapter beckoned the following year as Owori left SC Villa for Spain, joining Vélez CF in 2021 before moving to Swedish side Utiskitens in 2022.
Owori’s second Villa stint
In early February 2023, David Owori quietly returned to SC Villa.
He did not need a long adaptation period. He immediately became an important figure in the club’s run-in during the 2022/23 season.
His relentless work and commitment were central to Villa’s title challenge. In the end, the Jogoos fell agonisingly short on the final day, but Owori and his teammates had given everything they had.
The following season demanded something different from him: patience.
During the 2023/24 campaign, Owori lost the starting position he had established the previous season and increasingly found himself operating from the fringes of the starting XI.
Serbian coach Dusan Stojanovic also altered his role, moving him towards right-back. From there, he made several substitute appearances, often deputizing for Gavin Kizito.
Nevertheless, limited minutes never diminished his commitment and whenever call upon, Owori responded.
And when SC Villa finally ended its 20-year wait for the league title in 2024, David Owori was part of the historic achievement. He featured in the final match of the season against NEC—the game that ultimately confirmed Villa as champions.
It was a fitting reward for a player who had endured some of the club’s most difficult years and remained committed through them.
When Gavin Kizito left at the end of that campaign, leaving the right back position literally vacant, Owori grabbed the opportunity and it was at the same time that he was appointed deputy captain to Ronald Ssekiganda.
From the 2024 Cecafa Kagame Cup, through the CAF Champions League campaign and across the entire 2024/25 domestic season, Owori established himself as one of the finest right-backs in the league.
His performances were consistent. His work rate was relentless. His importance to the team was undeniable.
When Ssekiganda joined Rwanda’s APR, Owori was elevated to the full captaincy of SC Villa and he wore the armband with distinction.
He joined a list of distinguished captains to lift trophies for the club when he led the Jogoos to the pre-season FUFA Super 8 tournament, setting the tone for what would become another important chapter in his Villa story.
Owori entered the 2025/26 season as captain and continued to perform at an exceptionally consistent level which earned him a national team call as he was named on Uganda’s provisional squad for the Africa Cup of Nations in November last year although he missed out on the final squad generating debate since Timothy Awany was unable to make the trip to Morocco despite making the final squad sheet. It was a disappointment but that did not change him as he returned to SC Villa and continued to lead.
Alongside Raymond Mangoli Barasa, Geoffrey Lubangakene and Simon Kato Ssemayange, he formed part of a combative defensive unit that helped the Jogoos finish third in the Uganda Premier League with 61 points.
He also captained Villa to its first Uganda Cup final in 11 years but unfortunately fell 2–1 to Kitara, but Owori’s individual contribution was recognised with the Best Defender of the 2025/26 Uganda Cup competition award; another fitting acknowledgment of a player whose career had increasingly become synonymous with consistency, resilience and leadership.
His final appearance for SC Villa came in the FUFA Super 8 on 1 August 2026, in a 1–1 draw against Maroons. None ever imagined that would be his last game when he got replaced by Andrew Okumu deep in the second half.
The Numbers Behind David Owori’s Legacy at Villa
- Appearances in all competitions: 167
- Uganda Premier League: 135
- Uganda Cup: 17
- Caf Champions League: 2
- Cecafa Kagame Cup: 3
- Fufa Super 8: 8
- Goals: 9
- Assists: 7
- Yellow Cards: 21
- Red Cards: 1
Statistics however, can only tell part of the story as they cannot measure the tackles, the runs, the sacrifices, the encouragement offered to teammates or the responsibility carried while wearing the captain’s armband and representing the biggest club in the country
The Final Days
Just over a week ago, David Owori led the Jogoos onto the field for their opening FUFA Super 8 fixture against Maroons which ended 1–1.
After the game, as the team boarded near the main entrance of Hamz Stadium, I was among the people he greeted. It was a brief exchange. Just a simple hello.
At the time, there was no reason to believe it would be the last.
Life has a cruel way of turning ordinary moments into memories we would give anything to relive.
Reports indicate that, shortly after attending his young son’s birthday celebration, Owori was attacked and beaten by thugs. He sustained injuries from which he later succumbed. And just like that, SC Villa lost its captain. A footballer who had spent years giving everything to the badge was suddenly gone.
David Owori’s story is ultimately not defined by the circumstances of his death. It is defined by the way he lived. He was a player who arrived at SC Villa during one of the club’s most difficult periods and remained through its reconstruction.
He experienced disappointment, fought for his place, accepted positional changes, waited patiently for opportunities and eventually rose to become captain. He was part of the team that ended a 20-year wait for the league title. He wore the captain’s armband with pride and in the final days of his life, he was still leading his team.
The pain is immense. The grief is raw. The questions will remain.
But so will the memories.
The memory of the hardworking defender.
The committed teammate.
The disciplined footballer.
The motivator.
The leader.
The captain.
David Owori, SC Villa’s number 15, may have left the field for the final time—but his legacy will forever remain in blue.
Rest in peace, Captain.