Mukura are homeless

MUKURA VICTORY SPORTS are in dilemma after HVP Gatagara high school suddenly closed Kamena stadium which served as the home ground for the league side for the past three years. The Gatagara school for the handicapped are the owners of Kamena stadium but had lent out the ground to Mukura because the latter’s Huye stadium is under renovation, including the laying of an artificial turf, since 2011. Gatagara school officials now say they also want to renovate their stadium. The school director Father Kizito Misago confirmed the development to Times Sport, saying: “We decided to close our stadium for renovation.”“You can see that it is getting dilapidated, even the playing field needs to be renovated, and so we thought it is only wise to address the problem before it gets worse. “Renovation activities start in two weeks time; otherwise we have no problem with Mukura,” he explained.Now, the Huye District-sponsored football club must look elsewhere before the resumption of the league on January 18.The most feasible ground for Cedric Kaze’s side would probably be Muhanga stadium, which is the nearest to Huye. The other option is to look to one of the Kigali-based stadiums, which are mainly government-run, such as Stade de Kigali, Amahoro stadium, Kicukiro ground or Mumena turf.But Mukura are still at the crossroads.“It really hard for us, the team was supposed to start training last Friday and when they arrived at the stadium they found gates closed with a sign saying that the stadium is out of operations,” Mukura Secretary General and Spokesman Olivier Mulindahabi told this paper on Tuesday.Asked what the club plans to do next, he said: “We will be hosting some of our matches at Muhanga stadium and others in Kigali until renovation of our own stadium (Huye stadium) is done. We hope in two months time Huye stadium will be ready to host competitions.” The official admitted that their major concern at the moment is finding a fairly good training ground, with University of Rwanda (Huye Campus) stadium in the frame although authorities there have yet to give them the green light.Mukura, who are ninth in the 14-team table with 13 points from 13 league matches played so far, can probably take heart from the fact that they are not the only league club without a stadium to call home. Most of the big sides in Kigali share grounds, which are largely owned by central or local governments.Even defending league champions Rayon Sports play their ‘home’ matches at Kigali’s Amahoro stadium away from their home district of Nyanza district, where they are based and train from.