{"id":3985,"date":"2026-08-06T15:30:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T15:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=3985"},"modified":"2026-08-06T15:30:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T15:30:05","slug":"top-ugandan-footballer-killed-by-robbers-armed-with-paving-stones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=3985","title":{"rendered":"Top Ugandan footballer killed by robbers armed with paving stones"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"d9dcf5c9-9c5e-443e-ab4d-d29045405a2b\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"David Owori.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/722558205b33f4faaab5e9e6e15a8a25d3bd3933\/0_251_692_554\/master\/692.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.26878612716763\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">David Owori was described as \u2018an inspiration to a generation\u2019 by the Federation of Uganda Football Associations.<\/span> Photograph: SC Villa<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"d9dcf5c9-9c5e-443e-ab4d-d29045405a2b\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">David Owori was described as \u2018an inspiration to a generation\u2019 by the Federation of Uganda Football Associations.<\/span> Photograph: SC Villa<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Top Ugandan footballer killed by robbers armed with paving stones<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>David Owori, who played for the national team, died in hospital after he tried to stop robbers taking his phone<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Ugandan football community is in mourning after the death of a player who was fatally injured during a robbery in the capital, Kampala, on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">David Owori, who captained Sports Club Villa, a Uganda Premier League club, and represented the national team, was attacked after resisting an attempt to steal his mobile phone and other belongings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Racheal Kawala, a spokesperson for the Kampala Metropolitan Police, said he was found unconscious by \u200bpassersby, who took him to a nearby hospital. He was \u200btransferred to another hospital where he was later pronounced dead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Witnesses said attackers hit the footballer with paving stones before robbing him and fleeing, leaving him unconscious, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cm2g0038yr8o\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">the BBC reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Owori, 27, was a right-back and midfielder for SC Villa. He helped the team win a record 17th Uganda Premier League title in 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">He started his senior career in 2016 at the Uganda Premier League side Vipers Sports Club and had stints in Europe with V\u00e9lez CF in Spain and Utsiktens BK in Sweden.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">He played for the national team in the qualifiers for the 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/africa\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Africa<\/a> Cup of Nations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">SC Villa <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SCVillaJogoo\/status\/2084962562727121141\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">said<\/a>: \u201cIt is with profound sorrow that we announce the untimely passing of our captain, Owori, who had been receiving treatment at Case Clinic following an attack by suspected thugs. Our deepest condolences and prayers are with his family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Federation \u200bof Uganda Football Associations <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/UgandaCranes\/status\/2085012416027381982\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">said<\/a>: \u201cDavid was not just a footballer. He was \u200bboth a leader and an inspiration to a generation. As \u200bCaptain of SC Villa, he led with courage, humility and passion. In the Uganda Cranes jersey, he carried the hopes of a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">It added: \u201cWe have lost a son, a leader and a star. His light on and off the pitch will never be forgotten.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Ugandan parliament observed a minute of silence in Owori\u2019s honour on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">In June Sydney Gongodyo, a Ugandan rugby international, \u200bdied after a mob attacked him in Kampala, mistaking him for a thief, police said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Uganda\u2019s National Council of Sports said: \u201cSadly, \u200bUgandan sport has been hit with many such \u200btragedies lately, and we hope for justice and a lasting solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/football\/football\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Football<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/uganda\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Uganda<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/africa\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Africa<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Top%20Ugandan%20footballer%20killed%20by%20robbers%20armed%20with%20paving%20stones&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/football\/2026\/aug\/06\/top-uganda-footballer-killed-robbery-kampala?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2026%2Faug%2F06%2Ftop-uganda-footballer-killed-robbery-kampala&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=football\/2026\/aug\/06\/top-uganda-footballer-killed-robbery-kampala\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>David Owori was described as \u2018an inspiration to a generation\u2019 by the Federation of Uganda&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3985"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3987,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3985\/revisions\/3987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3985"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3985"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3985"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}