In the action world of rallying where dust, danger, and deafening engines dominate the senses, there exists a voice that must remain calm, steady, and unquestioned. For six years, that voice has belonged to Anthony Mugambwa, the man entrusted with calling notes for rally legend Ronald Ssebuguzi in their roaring Ford Fiesta Proto.
Mugambwa clinched the 2025 National Rally Championship co-drivers’ title, cementing himself among the finest in Ugandan motorsport. For a man who prefers silence to the spotlight, it is a well-earned moment on the podium. Six years with Ronald Ssebuguzi inside a rally cockpit creates a bond few outside the sport can understand. The stakes are life and death; the trust is absolute.
“In there, it’s only the three of us myself, the driver, and the car,” Mugambwa often says. “Whatever happens in that cockpit stays there.”
That philosophy has shaped one of the most respected partnerships in modern rallying. With Ssebuguzi, a four-time national champion, Mugambwa has stood unshaken through triumphs and mechanical heartbreaks alike.
The 2025 title is Mugambwa’s third national championship, having previously taken the NRC crown in 2024 and winning the 2WD Championship in 2014 alongside “woman of steel” Irene Leira Blick. His journey is a testament to patience, discipline, and the uncelebrated art of co-driving. Behind the scenes, he is not just the passenger with a notebook. He is the manager, the strategist, the calm voice that steadies the cockpit when the rally turns into war.
He coordinates mechanical issues.
He makes technical calculations under pressure.
He manages time, pace, and the driver’s composure.
He protects the crew’s championship hopes when everything seems to crumble.
The 2025 season did not unfold like a victory lap, it was a war fought through every kilometre, stages and events.
At Fort Portal UMC Rally, their worst nightmare unfolded when they slid off the track. Panic was an option; surrender was not. The crew remained calm, regrouped, and fought on.
At the Pearl of Africa Uganda Rally, Mugambwa made a snap decision that only a seasoned co-driver could make: he took a penalty on behalf of the crew to protect them from a bigger setback.
“Sometimes you sacrifice seconds today to save a rally tomorrow,” he explained.
And in Hoima, where spectators mistakenly thought they were cruising slowly, the reality was far more critical. The car was damaged. Mugambwa had to request a restart so the mechanical crew could work on the Fiesta Proto.
He knew the service window wouldn’t be enough time. He knew a DNF would kill their championship hopes. He understood that they had to get the car across the last flying finish, no matter how wounded it was because champions aren’t crowned in garages, but on stages, such decisions are why co-drivers should never be seen as passengers. They are the tactical command center of the entire operation.
Mugambwa is a champion, but he represents something larger, a whole community of co-drivers whose work is often overshadowed by the heroics of the driver.
“We deserve recognition,” he says. “Any wrong note can cost the rally. We fight through the same pressure, the same fear, the same roads.” Rallying is built on milliseconds, and he guards those seconds with discipline and courage.
Speaking to Zaabu Sports, Mugambwa reflected on the season with humility, but also pride in the battles fought and won. The championships, he says, belong not just to him or Ssebuguzi, but to every mechanic, every fan, every team member who believes in the spirit of motorsport.
“Co-drivers,” he insists, “are the spine of a rally team. Without the right call in the right moment, the car is blind.”
From his early days winning 2WD stages to becoming a multi-time NRC champion, Anthony Mugambwa’s journey has been defined by discipline, loyalty, and sheer mental endurance. As fans celebrate the 2025 championship, one thing is clear:
Behind every rally legend stands a co-driver who reads the road, carries the pressure, and guides victory home.
And in Uganda today, that co-driver is Anthony Mugambwa, the quiet general commanding from the co-driver’s seat.
#SweetValleyIslamicSchools-Bombo
