Ugandan striker Stephen Dese Mukwala has promised to repay Asante Kotoko fans' faith and belief in him after joining the club on a free transfer.
"Basically, I want to thank the fans of mighty Asante Kotoko for the beautiful reception, I already feel at home because of the love showed me in the last few days and I promise to repay that faith and belief in me. I can’t wait to get started," he said.
"I promise to repay the fans for the faith they've put in me" -New Kotoko signing, Mukwala Steven Dese ??#GhanaSoccerNet pic.twitter.com/p7VyoWfXaL
— Ghanasoccernet.com (@Ghanasoccernet) August 3, 2022
The former Uganda Premier League top scorer has been a top target for the Porcupine Warriors for the past two seasons and has finally signed for the Ghanaian giants.
Kotoko returned to the negotiations table with the goal-scoring machine as they search for a quality striker to replace Cameroonian striker Franck Mbella Etouga who is expected to leave the club before the 2022-23 season begins.
Mukwala sealed his transfer to the Porcupine Warriors on Wednesday after signing a two-year contract.
Mbella Etouga was outstanding for the Fabulous club last season in the Ghana Premier League, scoring 21 goals in 30 appearances helping them to clinch the title for the first time in eight years.
Mbella Etouga is expected to sign for Italian Serie A club Udinese Calcio in the coming days.
Mukwala who played for Uganda Revenue Authority SC in the last season will join Kotoko on a two-year contract with an option for another year.
The 23-year-old highly rated striker spent the 2019-20 season at Maroons FC where he was crowned top scorer of the Uganda Premier League.
He netted 13 goals in 23 appearances to emerge goal king of the 2019/2020 campaign while on loan from Vipers SC.
After his failed move to Ghana, the highly-rated striker signed for URA.
In his first season at the URA, the prolific attacker finished the 2020-21 campaign as the 3rd top scorer with 14 goals in 24 matches.
Mukawala in the second season at URA scored 13 goals in 26 games in the Ugandan top-flight, five behind the top scorer Cesar Lobi Manzoki who netted 18 goals at the end of the 2021-22 campaign.
Mukwala made his competitive debut for the Uganda national team on 6 September 2021 when the Cranes played Mali in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
He has 11 international caps for the Uganda national team in total since making his debut and is also yet to score a goal.
Mukawala has 40 goals in 73 appearances across the last three seasons in the Ugandan top-flight.