Table of Contents
- Wrestling in Uganda is far from the televised glitz you see on TV
- Everything about it is simple yet exciting
- Daniel Mumba is the brainchild of this spectacle
Wrestling in Uganda is far from the televised glitz you see on TV, but it’s becoming a global sensation.
Everything about it is simple yet exciting. Young women and men in professional wrestling care less about the Western glitz that comes with this sport.
All they are after is growing professional wrestling at home, and Daniel Mumba is the brainchild of this spectacle.
What started with doubt is now shaping up to be a globally admired sport. Not that it’s new, but for its simplicity.
Who is Daniel Mumba?
Bumba worked for years as a wrestling commentator for local TV channels. He mastered the skill by following WWE commentators and chose to commentate in Luganda for everyone to understand.
Nicknamed ‘Bumbash’ his dream became bigger and inspired him to start SGW, and he got a lot of kindness from wrestlers across the world.
Wrestling in mud in Mukono, a town in the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda. Photo/BBC
He funds most SGW operations, including paying salaries to the young wrestlers. Bumba recently monetised his social media pages, and he gets $100,0, which is barely enough to cater for SGW’s operational costs.
He uses his TV salary to push SGW operations, and he doesn’t regret it.
Growth of Wrestling in Uganda
Mumba used local innovation to create a ring. It’s nothing complicated, nor fancy. His first wrestling ring came up as a square structure with bamboo on all four corners and yellow lines to mark all four ring boundaries.
He levelled the ground, then used sticky mud to soften and replace the canvas in a modern ring. Wrestlers have a soft ground for action.
The ring is located in Mukono, on the outskirts of Kampala, popularly known as the Soft Ground Wrestling (SGW) arena.
This marked the start and subsequent growth of wrestling in Uganda. Bumba said that he came up with the ‘conventional ring’ due to a lack of funds to set up a modern wrestling ring.
Besides, it was a new sport whose interest uptake was still low at the time. He was avoiding a situation where he would invest massively in something people wouldn’t be interested in.
He used locally sourced bamboo and clay for the ring. Wet clay softens the ground impact for wrestlers and is cheap to get, not to mention its availability.
Wrestling in mud in Mukono, a town in the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda. Photo/BBC
He is happy about the progress wrestling in Uganda has had so far. Bumba taps on the power of social media to popularise the sport through SGW across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok.
So far, SGW has amassed a cumulative 500 million views from its social platforms.
SGW Stars
Jordan Loverine and Lamono Evelyn are upcoming wrestlers in Uganda. They fell in love with the sport as soon
They credit SGW for giving them something they can hold onto in life. Most wrestlers under the SGW wings were raised by struggling single parents or are orphans.
Loverine is one of those getting her life back on track after dropping out of high school. She almost gave up on life, but wrestling in Uganda rescued her despite getting no salary.
The few donations SGW gets put a smile on her face. Together with 100 other young Ugandan wrestlers, she is grateful that she has a family.
Just like Loverine, Lakini, popularly known by her stage name ‘Zampi’; says her life wouldn’t be complete without SGW.
The platform gave her a sense of purpose in life after life’s hardships from being raised by a single mother.
She told BBC Africa Sport that wrestling has addressed her anger issues. She sees things from a different perspective without anger crowding her judgment.
