After more than a decade of titles — including a record run with City Oilers and earlier work with the Silverbacks, Mandy Juruni continues to speak about the basketball game with the same clarity that built his name.
Built on professionalism, player development and a genuine bond with his teams, Juruni has become one of the country’s defining coaching figures, and the story of how he reached the sideline starts long before the trophies.
Known to many as Coach Mandy, Mandy Juruni first made his name as a player before establishing himself as one of Uganda’s most accomplished coaches, recognised for turning structure, discipline and relationships into sustained success.
The journey began around Makerere, where he grew up with open access to the university’s sports scene and spent his days on the fields until basketball found him. Watching Rhinos Athletic Club train, he fell in love with the game, joined the club, and began a playing career that would later shape Ugandan hoops.
As a player he was one of the finest point guards Uganda has produced — high school basketball in the United States, then Rhinos and City Oilers. Even then, he could already see the coaching docket ahead of him.
He started on the women’s side, guiding KCCA and UCU Lady Cannons to multiple trophies, before the move to City Oilers and a record-breaking nine championships. Beyond the silverware, he has always placed equal weight on professionalism and the bond between coach and player.
The journey was not without hard calls. After winning it all with City Oilers, Juruni made the tough decision to join Rwandan side Templars — a step that tested the same standards he had built at home.
That chapter, and the years of titles that came before it, still feed the lessons he now passes on as the game around him keeps changing.
Juruni believes lasting success starts with young players who stay patient, stay disciplined and stay in the process. Basketball, he reminds them, opens doors no one could imagine.
The clearest expression of that idea is the paint. It is more than a spot on the floor. It is a mindset — the willingness to do the hard, unglamorous work when no one is watching.
His path from Makerere to the sideline reflects that standard: careful development, a clear culture, and a refusal to skip the unglamorous parts of the job.
From a boy watching Rhinos train to a coach with a cabinet of league titles, Mandy Juruni has overseen one of Ugandan basketball’s most complete careers — first with the ball in his hands, then with the voice on the bench.
With that same conviction still intact, Juruni continues to point the next generation toward the work that actually lasts.
