He was born in 1981 to Grace Namuguzi of Wakaliga, Natete.
How the top scorer of Uganda's football league overcame mental illness
Andrew Mukasa 'Fimbo' Kalyango is currently Uganda's record holder for goals in Uganda's domestic football league. He entertained crowds and fans with his football talent while battling personal demons.
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His mother Grace says that Fimbo’s father passed away while he was still an infant. However, rumour has it that his father wasn’t his real parent and that this led to the tumultuous reality of Mukasa’s disturbedd mental state.
Football career
Andrew begun his soccer career at Kyagwe Road primary school.
His heroics started when he joined Puma FC and became top scorer in the 1995 season with 33 goals in the 1st division league. This is where he was given the nickname "Fimbo" because of his piledriver shots.
In 1996 Fimbo was invited to Uganda’s U-18 squad that took part in the Coca-Cola East and Central African Junior Championships in Ethiopia. He took Uganda to the finals and scored 3 goals.
From that point, glory sought him as SC Villa, Express and KCC FC clashed trying to sign him. At only 17 years old, he joined SC Villa where him and Hassan Mubiru created the Mubiru-Mukasa duo which dominated the country.
He holds the Ugandan record for most scored goals in a season with 45 goals in the 1999 season. He beat Jimmy Kirunda's 32 goal record, which stood up until that point.
For the duration of his career he amassed a treasure of accolades: 4 League tittles, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 (SC Villa), 2 Kakungulu Cups 1998, 2000 (SC Villa), League Top scorer 1999, 2000 (SC villa), East African Hedex Cup (SC Villa), Led SC villa to CECAFA finals (1999), East African Hedex Cup (Express and Inspired Uganda’s U-23 national team into the 1999 All African Games.
He joined URA in 2011 and is still under them.
Red flags
Although his mental challenges are commonly thought to have emerged in his 20s, close friends and colleagues say that he always struggled since his childhood.
“That problem started when Andrew was as young as 10 years old, even below. You could see something was amiss even then." Edgar Watson said in an interview.
“We knew how to handle him. He would have those outbursts, but we knew how to deal with it. But it got out of hand when he joined Express (2002),” Watson said in a statement which was corroborated by Tusher Ruparelia and Wooto Walusimbi, a journalist with Simba FM.
Kasoma said that the legendary player's situation worsened after Express' Hedex Cup triumph in 2003.
“That’s when everything started falling apart. He stopped playing and going for training. He never wanted football anymore. He would just wander around. It reached a point where we had to take him to Butabika in 2004," Kasoma revealed.
"Andrew’s problem returned strongly in 2007/08. All this time we would go to FUFA to ask for help but they would toss us up and down.”
"He was re-admitted to Butabika where he spent three weeks before he was discharged," Kasoma stated,
Darkest before dawn
“When he improved, some friends advised that we take him to Pastor Samanya’s church in Kajjansi for prayers. We took him there in 2010 and he spent three to four months there," Kasoma added.
“He was tied with ropes to prevent him from running away. I would visit him at the church weekly. One day when I went there, I found him at KB Lions training ground. He continued watching KB Lions training and slowly started playing with them.”
During one of the games at KB Lions, Andrew got into a scuffle with a fan and this incensed him so much he never returned.
Kasoma lost touch with him for a while and so the next time he went to check on him, Mukasa had left the church and had spent one month sleeping under a shade in Kajjansi.
“What I saw was shocking. He was sleeping on a one-inch smelly mattress with one bed sheet, he was very thin with rashes and black spots all over. Another week, he could have died,” Kasoma said.
Kasoma then went back home and arranged to have Mukasa taken back to Butabika.
“I collected Shs45000 and took Andrew to Butabika. One time I visited him, he told me ‘Mwana Song, kati ngenda nterera,' (Song, I’m now getting better). "
Andrew calls Kasoma ‘Song’ because of his affection for Cameroonian legend Rigobert Song.
Dawn
Kasoma accompanied Andrew to the Uganda Vs Angola at Namboole where Andrew's journey to join Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) started.
Geoffrey Kyondo, URA’s director of communications contacted Kasoma saying: “We don’t mind even if he does not play for us. All we want is for him to live happily.”
URA chairman Ali Sekatawa asked Walusimbi to take Mukasa to Mulago Hospital at the club’s expense. Since that day, the Club has advanced Shs1million to renovate Mukasa’s house as plans for a new house are underway.
“The first day he appeared at URA’s training, he asked for boots and a jersey,” said Walusimbi.
After signing for URA for two years, Mukasa started earning Shs450,000 per month along with allowance.
Getting back on the field
“He was phenomenal, the most precise finisher in Uganda’s history. I remember against Express, I received the ball, I don’t know where Andrew came from but I just saw a boot across my face and he had scored," he said.
“Some people say that because of his condition he did those daring things. I hope the project at URA rolls off well,” Watson said, expressing his joy for Andrew's return.
“Andrew will play football. I know him. I played with him and I know he will come good,” URA coach Alex Isabirye said.
At the moment, Andrew is well on his way to self-sustenance and his football stardom at URA. He enjoys his favourite artists (Michael Jackson and Lucky Dube) at home and occasionally visits Kasoma for a chat or two.
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