Long before he ever strapped on a helmet, Oscar Ntambi stood by the roadside in Kampala, watching rally cars tear through the dust. He cheered. He dreamed. Sometimes, he went home and replayed the experience on video games. Today, that same boy from Buziga is preparing to compete in the iconic Safari Rally Kenya — no longer a spectator, but a driver on the start line.
For Ntambi, this is not just another rally. It is a full-circle moment.
His journey began not in a workshop, but in imagination. After years of following the sport obsessively, he decided in 2017 that passion alone was no longer enough. He wanted a car of his own. In 2018, that dream took physical shape when he acquired his first rally machine. With the help of his brother, the car was stripped, rebuilt, and transformed into a competition weapon. Training sessions in Garuga followed — dusty, demanding, and decisive.
Results came quickly.
In 2021, Ntambi entered the CRC Championship and stunned many by winning the final three rallies of the season. It was a statement. A year later, he went further, dominating the two-wheel-drive (2WD) category and clinching both the 2022 National Rally Championship and the 2WD Sprint Championship. It was the season that confirmed he belonged among Uganda’s elite.
But rallying rarely follows a straight road.
The 2023 season was subdued, almost transitional. In 2024, he upgraded to a Subaru N10 — faster, more aggressive, less forgiving. Then came 2025: mechanical gremlins, a heavy roll, and moments that could have ended the campaign entirely. Instead, Ntambi responded with resolve, switching to a Mitsubishi Evo X and closing the season strongly in Busiika, finishing as second runner-up in the National Sprint Championship.
Now, seated in a Mitsubishi Evo X Ralliart and guided by his trusted co-driver Muhamadi Uthumaan, Ntambi approaches the Safari Rally with measured ambition. The Safari is legendary — beautiful, brutal, and unpredictable. “This is my first attempt. I do not really know the roads or the surface, so my main target is to finish,” he says — a humble goal in one of the toughest rallies in the world.
Beyond the cockpit, Ntambi balances speed with stability. He runs a metal and aluminium fabrication business and is a devoted husband and father of four. His children often attend rallies and training sessions, watching their father chase the very dream he once chased from behind a safety barrier.
Regionally, he has already proven his strength, winning his category twice at the Pearl of Africa Rally and securing multiple local victories. He believes rallying is one of Uganda’s rare sports that truly unites the nation — and with one of East Africa’s largest rally fan bases, he expects strong Ugandan support in Naivasha.
As he prepares to line up alongside world-class WRC drivers, Ntambi remains grounded, grateful especially to sponsors like KCB Bank. The dream is real now. The dust will rise. And somewhere along the stages of Safari, the former roadside fan will finally see the rally from the other side of the windscreen.
