Ugandans are mourning the death of David Owori, one of the country’s best-known footballers, who died at 27 after being beaten by suspected robbers near his home in Kampala.
Police said Owori was fatally assaulted after resisting an attempt to steal his mobile phone and other belongings, an attack that has sparked grief across the football world and renewed public anger over violent crime in Uganda.
Owori captained Sports Club (SC) Villa, the Uganda Premier League’s record champions, playing both as a right-back and midfielder. He also represented Uganda’s national team, the Cranes. “We have lost more than a player; we have lost a leader, brother and friend,” SC Villa said in a statement.
Witnesses said a group of attackers struck Owori with paving stones on Tuesday night before robbing him of his belongings and fleeing, leaving him unconscious.
SC Villa spokesperson Asan Kasingye said Owori was ambushed just outside his home in Makindye, a Kampala suburb, sustaining life-threatening injuries before being rushed to a medical facility.
He was taken first to a nearby clinic and later transferred to a private hospital, where he died of his injuries on Wednesday. Police spokesperson Racheal Kawala said detectives were pursuing leads to identify the attackers, adding that the crime scene had been processed to preserve evidence.
Tributes have poured in for the defender, popularly known as “Colgate.” The Federation of Uganda Football Associations called him “a true leader on and off the pitch,” while the Cranes said the team had lost a player who “carried the hopes” of the nation.
Parliament observed a minute’s silence in his honour on Wednesday and called for a swift investigation.
Owori returned to SC Villa in 2023 after two years in Europe, helping the club win a record 17th league title in 2024 and earning a contract extension through January 2027.
His death comes just weeks after the killing of Ugandan rugby international Sydney Gongodyo, also fatally attacked by a mob in Kampala.
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