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Francis Were Nyangweso (29 September 1939 – 15 February 2011) was a Ugandan boxer.[1] He competed in the men's light middleweight event at the 1960 Summer Olympics.[2] He later went on to work in sports administration in Uganda,[3] as well as becoming a general in the Ugandan Army,[4] before being caught up in a bribery scandal at the 2000 Summer Olympics.[5][6]
Nyangweso was born in Busia, Uganda in 1939.[7] He was the captain of Uganda's national boxing team from 1955 to 1962.[1]
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Nyangweso competed in the men's light middleweight event.[8] He lost in the second round of the competition to Wilbert McClure of the United States, with McClure going on to win the gold medal.[8] Despite his defeat at the Olympics, Nyangweso won the gold medal at the Hapoel Games in 1961,[7] and a bronze medal at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.[9]
In 1963, Nyangweso graduated from military school and became a general in the Ugandan Army.[1] Eight years later, Idi Amin appointed Nyangweso to the post of Army Commander and Chief of Staff.[1] Under Amin's dictatorship, Nyangweso was the acting Head of State for a short time in 1975 while Amin was on holiday.[1][9]
Nyangweso was the team manager for Uganda's boxing team at the 1968 Summer Olympics,[1] and Uganda's chef de mission for the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1980 Summer Olympics.[1] He then moved up to be the Ugandan Boxing Federation's President for two spells from 1967 to 1972 and from 1979 to 1995.[1] Nyangweso was also the President of the African Boxing Confederation from 1974 to 1978.[1] After serving on the board of the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur from 1981 to 1986, Nyangweso served as their Vice-President from 1986 to 2006.[1] At Olympic level, Nyangweso was the Vice-President of the Association of National Olympic Committees from 1999 to 2001,[1] as well as the President of the Uganda Olympic Committee from 1971 to 2009.[1]
In 1999, Nyangweso was caught up in an Olympic bribery scandal,[9][10] but was later cleared following an investigation.[11][12] He died in February 2011 in Kampala, aged 71.[13]
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