Why Ivan Ahimbisibwe’s time in Iraq was short-lived

On August 14, 2026, KCCA made a formal announcement confirming the departure of Ivan Ahimbisibwe to Iraq’ s Zakho Sports Club.

The forward, nicknamed the ‘Hunter’, had made a goal contribution of 17 (G14, A4) in 27 appearances in the 2025/26 season and won the golden boot in his maiden campaign at the MTN Omondi stadium, Lugogo after he had joined from URA.

At Zakho, Ahimbisibwe made three appearances only and stunningly, has made a shock return to the club.

Ahimbisibwe has been unveiled by the 13-time champions and will now focus attention on helping the Kasasiro end a major trophy drought.

Why the early return?

Kawowo Sports has reliably learnt that the Iraq club failed to meet Ahimbisibwe’s agreed contractual obligations before he flew out.

“Unfortunately, the club couldn’t meet their part of the promise in terms of contractual obligation due to unforeseen financial constraints and in the end, the best decision was to part ways amicably,” a source revealed.

The Hunter 🏹 returns: Ivan Ahimbisibwe rejoins #KCCAFC.

Full story on @ahimbisibwe_val 🏹👇🏼https://t.co/1OtRafVaxk

— KCCA FC (@KCCAFC)

September 19, 2026

“It is sad but at the end of the day, this was a good decision for both club and player,” a source which preferred anonymity from the club said also told us.

It is reported that two other foreigners also faced same situation and to avoid any fracas, the same direction was taken.

There were other options available for the Ugandan international in Iraq, Tunisia and Algeria among others but he chose a return to KCCA despite interest from UPL champions Vipers as well.

“He (Ahimbisibwe) had options even in Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria and a few other clubs elsewhere but the choice of KCCA being ‘home’ was tough to ignore since acclimatization won’t be a problem,” a source close to the player said.

The centre forward has scored 30 goals in the past two league campaigns for both URA and KCCA and is one of the options for Uganda Cranes coach Paul Put as the country prepares to co-host the Africa Cup of Nations along with Kenya and Tanzania next year.

He was part of the Uganda Cranes squad at Afcon 2025 in Morocco but missed a call up for the forthcoming qualifiers against Tunisia and Libya due to the issues with his immediate former club thus a return to KCCA where he is more likely to impress a viable one.

Competition for places at Lugogo

The hunter will have to fight for a starting place on the team with new signing Charles Lwanga and Emmanuel Anyama who got the club’s first season goal in the 1-0 win over Kataka.

However, given his track record and the fact that he offers more than goals but overall team play, he is poised to walk straight into the team and the Kasasiro fans cant wait to see how he blossoms with play maker Ibrahim Kasule just behind him.

The post Why Ivan Ahimbisibwe’s time in Iraq was short-lived appeared first on Kawowo Sports.