After months spent in the cold, Bright Anukani finally found his way back onto the pitch for KCCA FC, and his return carried both relief and quiet vindication.
The gifted attacking midfielder made his first appearance in close to a year on Sunday, coming off the bench as KCCA edged Mbarara City FC 1-0 to progress in the Stanbic Uganda Cup.
It was a moment that had long seemed improbable. Anukani had not featured for the Lugogo-based side since May 24, 2025, when KCCA comfortably defeated Express FC 3-0 in the Uganda Premier League.
What followed was not injury, nor loss of form, but a deeply puzzling exile engineered by the club itself.
At the start of the 2025/26 season, KCCA reportedly abruptly informed the playmaker that he was surplus to requirements. The decision was startling considering Anukani’s reputation as one of Uganda’s most technically gifted creators, a player whose vision, control, and intelligence between the lines have long set him apart.
Yet the club’s stance became even more perplexing. While pushing him toward the exit door, KCCA reportedly refused to compensate the player for the remaining two years of his contract. The club denied him a license to play for the 2025/26 campaign, effectively freezing him out of competitive football while still holding him to his deal.
For months, Anukani existed in professional limbo. A potential escape route emerged when Entebbe UPPC FC expressed interest in signing him. But the move stalled for one simple reason: the midfielder understandably sought compensation from KCCA before walking away from the final year of his contract, something the club was unwilling to offer.
The standoff culminated in an even harsher measure. Anukani was demoted to train with the club’s junior team, a curious fate for a player widely regarded among the finest playmakers in the country.
Football, however, has a peculiar way of rewriting its own scripts. In recent weeks, Anukani quietly rejoined first-team training, signalling a thaw in relations. And on Sunday, he was finally restored to the matchday squad.
The moment nearly turned magical. Shortly after entering the game, Anukani thought he had marked his return with a goal, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. Still, his presence injected composure and creativity. Filbert Obenchan netted the decisive goal to seal KCCA’s passage into the round of 16.
For Anukani, the appearance represented more than minutes on the pitch. It was the end of a long, unnecessary purgatory, one imposed not by circumstance, but by administrative stubbornness.
And for KCCA, it raises uncomfortable questions. For nearly a year, the club chose to sideline one of Uganda’s most gifted midfielders rather than resolve a contractual impasse with clarity and fairness.
In a league that constantly speaks about professionalism and player development, the treatment of a footballer of Anukani’s calibre felt both excessive and short-sighted.
