Here’s What Whistle Blower Told RDC Hudu Hussein About Masaka-Based El Cambio Academy

Last November, the Masaka city RCC’s office received a big petition by authors claiming to be insiders working for Danish missionary Thomas Thor Madsen at his NGO and soccer academy called El Cambio Academy (FADUFL).

The academy was started in 2018 by this same stinking rich Danish businessman in order to help identify and bring together children from poor Ugandan families. The children were to be sponsored for education, have their footballing talent nurtured and their good character developed in order to turn them into useful citizens.

The RCC who heads security in the district was so much angered by the contents of the whistle blower complaint to the extent that he personally stormed El Cambio premises at new Kumbu and read out names of officials who security would be interested in including the CEO Thomas Thor Madsen, deputy CEO Kamya Joseph, the CEO’s sister Susan Thor Berntsen, Samuel Waliggo and Nelson Kasadha.

Others are Godfrey Mukulu the accountant, coach Abbey Kakumirizi, matron Nakiyimba Rovincer and Eddie Ssenyombi. The RCC went on to instruct the area police at Kijjabwemi in Kimanya-Kabonera division to commence serious investigations into possible “grave violations of children’s rights” under file no. CRB/277/2024.

But what did the whistle blower reveal to the RCC and police in his petition? He claimed that the children weren’t being well looked after yet their names, plight and details is what the NGO bosses were using to fundraise millions of dollars from wealthy donors back home in Denmark.

The whistle blower also claimed that consent forms weren’t being executed between the NGO and the children, and their parents too. The whistle blower called this exploitation of the plight of Uganda’s young children.

He added that the children were being cut off from communicating to their parents besides being made to deceive government officials about their age and dates of birth during NIRA registration for visa processing so as to enable them to travel abroad to Denmark, USA etc.

The whistle blower also claimed the children were being overworked during training which hurts their health and material welfare. It was also proposed that the RDC uses his office to compel the management of El Cambio to invest enough in provision of general and mental health services for the children and footballers at El Cambio.

The whistle blower also said parents and children were being stampeded into signing engagement agreements without the same being explained to them first.

The CEO was also accused of being secretive and not disclosing all financial and fundraising-related information to fellow directors and founders at El Cambio. The CEO was also accused of failing to comply with corporate governance requirements whereby board members are always sidelined and denied to have any say when staff recruitment or firing decisions are being made.

The CEO was also accused of chasing away children once they clock 18 without giving them anything to go and start life with. The whistle blower also claimed that male bazungu volunteers from Denmark were being unleashed to take young Ugandan girls through physiotherapy sessions instead of recruiting female physiotherapists as prudent practice would require.

The whistle blower also raised a red flag and implored the RDC to investigate the circumstances under which bazungus from Denmark come to Uganda as tourists under tourist visas only to end up taking on employment at El Cambio Academy (designated as volunteers) without first being required to apply for and obtain Uganda’s work visas and permits from the department of migration.

The RDC was at first very much committed to investigating all these issues at El Cambio but later on lost interest and left the whole saga for the Masaka division police to handle. The same El Cambio saga was recently taken over the NGO Bureau after the minister Kahinda Otafiire directed the executive director David Okello to investigate the same. This was after another whistle blower, another insider, petitioned general Otafiire’s office.