In sport, relegation can feel like the end of a journey. For Makerere Impis Rugby Club, however, it became the beginning of a different story.
In May 2024, the Makerere University side was relegated from the Uganda Rugby Premiership after a difficult regular season, dropping into the Central Regional Championship. The setback also triggered a major restructuring of the club’s leadership.
But according to club captain Harrison Ssejjemba, relegation forced Impis to confront its weaknesses, take a hard look at itself and begin rebuilding from the ground up.
“When you face challenges, you get to know your weaknesses and how you can solve those challenges,” Ssejjemba reflected.
For Impis, the answer was not simply changing training schedules or bringing in bigger names. It was about people.
The club went back to the drawing board, revamped its management and found itself surrounded by a group of people who genuinely cared about the club.
“There was a point where we were worried everyone was leaving,” Ssejjemba recalled.
But what initially looked like another problem eventually became part of the solution. Those who remained were joined by young, hungry players who wanted to prove themselves.
Impis increasingly focused on young high-school players energetic, ambitious and already familiar with one another through their school rugby experiences. The transformation was built around a simple idea: shared purpose.
Ssejjemba says there was no revolutionary change in the training programme. Instead, the difference was in commitment. Where previously training sessions could attract only a handful of players, Impis now had a group that wanted to be there and understood what was at stake.
That unity quickly translated onto the field.
After spending the 2024/25 season in the regional league, Impis found themselves in a tight promotion battle with local rivals Rams.
This time, the story was different. The Makerere side successfully navigated the promotion playoff race and earned its place back in the Uganda Rugby Premiership.
It was redemption, but Impis was not finished. Back in the Premiership for the 2026 season, Impis did more than simply survive. The club produced a strong campaign and reached the league semifinals, a remarkable turnaround from the side that had been relegated just two years earlier.
For Ssejjemba, however, the resurgence is not something the players should celebrate as the final destination.
“I would actually caution them to not relax,” he said. “This is not an achievement. We can achieve more.”
That hunger now meets a new opportunity. Today, Impis opened another chapter in its journey by announcing partnership with Hima Cement in a sponsorship deal worth UGX 250 million over two years.
For a club made up largely of university students, the support could help ease some of the practical challenges that often stand between young players and consistent participation.
Ssejjemba explained that passion alone cannot always overcome the realities faced by student athletes. Players have to travel to training, manage their studies and meet other day-to-day costs.
With Impis training three times a week, even small financial barriers can determine whether a player makes it to training. The Hima Cement support, therefore, is expected not to change the spirit that brought Impis back, but to strengthen it.
“It’s not going to change anything. It’s just going to magnify,” Ssejjemba said.
And perhaps that is the most fitting description of the Impis journey.
Relegation exposed the cracks. Restructuring brought the people together. Young players brought energy and hunger. Promotion restored their place at the top level. The 2026 semifinal appearance showed what was possible.
Now, with Hima Cement back alongside the club, Impis has another opportunity to build. For the young players walking onto the Makerere rugby field today, the message from their captain is simple: do not settle for the comeback.
And for a club that has already learned how to turn disappointment into determination, the next chapter is about seeing just how far that hunger can take them.