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VOL 1 | ISSUE 5 | JAN-FEB 2017

STAR ON
THE RISE
AMOS
NONDI

The inside story of Gor

Mahias rock of gibraltar

2017 KPL
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 SOKA FROM THE DESK OF THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
MAGAZINE
FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/SokaKenya

M
TWITTER usa Mohammed is officially the
www.twitter.com/@Soka_Ke
new Gor Mahia captain following
INSTAGRAM the retirement of club legend Jerim
www.instagram.com/soka_ke
Onyango who has since joined
politics. What a journey it has been for the FISA
Editor-in-Chief Academy graduate! From a humble background
Jeff Kinyanjui in the Mukuru slums to captaining one of the best
Kenyan clubs. However it hasnt been all rosy. His
Staff Writers
journey is the leading story for this edition.
Dan Ngulu,
Vincent Opiyo We also reflect on the year gone by and speak
Zachary Oguda to John Baraza who masterminded Sofapakas
Fabian Odhiambo survival as well as fast-rising youngster Amos
Terry Ouko Nondi. Most Kenyan players struggle after
hanging boots but not all - we have several who
Additional Photography
SportPicha are doing relatively well and former Tusker FC full-
back Harold Ndege is one of them. Get to know
Design and Layout what he is up to on page 61.
Ashish Jha
We hope you enjoy reading these and more
Published By articles as much as we enjoyed compiling the
Soka Holdings Ltd magazine.

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4SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

SOKAMAGAZINE
VOL 1 | ISSUE 5 | 2017

CONTENTS 06 The inside story of Gor Mahia's

12
rock of gibraltar, Musa Mohammed

Posta Rangers team profile

20 John Baraza's push for Sofapaka's

miraculous escape

27  athan Munai using football to

N
shape the youth in Embakasi

31  tar on the rise: Unleashing

S
Amos Nondi

34  ihiga United Vs Palos Fc Peers

V
Tailoring A Regional Clasico

39 CAVIN ODONGO: From the dusty

fields of Githurai to a potent striker

42 James Waithaka tranforming lives

of women in the slums through
football

47  overnors Cup: Making the strides

G
in fighting social ills

50 2017 KPL newbies at a glance

55 Esse Akida: Harambee Starlets

forward unleashed

59 Blast from the past: Kenyas

Golden era

62 Life After Football: Harold Ndege

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 5

INTERVIEW
COVER STORY NAME
MUSA MOHAMMED
MUSA
MOHAMED:
The inside story of
Gor Mahias rock of
gibraltar
By Dan Ngulu MDanOdinga
I
n 2008, the late James
Sianga a renowned
Kenyan coach saw a
gem in a few unknown
players and plucked
them straight from
school to one of the most
famous Kenyan teams, Gor
Mahia. At that point, perhaps
only the coach believed these
players would grow to legendary
status both at Gor Mahia and in
the country.
This pool of players included
Musa Mohamed, Christopher
Wekesa, Anthony Akumu, Kevin
Omondi, George Blackberry
Odhiambo, Ibrahim Kitawi, Dan
Makori, Jerim Onyango and
Cameroonian Baldwin Ngwa.
A famous line by Sianga
was his call to the Gor Mahia
faithful to give the youngsters
time and the old man, who
unfortunately passed on in 2016,
6SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
was vindicated after the core of
the team went on to win titles
in historic fashion, bagging three
straight league titles, one of
them without losing a game.
One player who will always
stand out whenever the history
of this great club is written, is
Musa Mohamed; a player whose
loyalty to the team is never
in question and his dexterity,
versatility and athleticism has
seen him stand the test of time,
watching coaches come and go
as he stayed on top of his game.
One man club
Musa is one of a kind; those
players who will comfortably
serve one master for the best
part of their career without
allowing their heads to be
turned by juicy deals from clubs
with short term ambitions.
Anyone who followed the
 www.soka.co.ke

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 7

INTERVIEW
COVER STORY NAME
MUSA MOHAMMED

legendary Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes

would find this very easy to relate.
The defender describes his journey at Gor Mahia as a
great adventure that he will always want to live again
and again, a standpoint that perhaps best describes his
longevity at the club and the fact that he will always be on
the team list.
It has been a great journey for me; I was scouted while
at school and given the chance to play for a premier league
team as I continued with my education. I got the chance to
play with great players that I would only watch in training
after school. That there was a big gesture of trust and in me
it bore a big inspiration.
This journey has had its ups and downs and I thank God
for this far. If you ask me, I have really learnt and gained
a lot that I would give all to live the adventure again and
again, he says.
A valiant soldier, Musa Mohamed is the only of Siangas
team that has never traded places for Gor Mahia (Blackberry
left and returned for a second stint). He has watched his
mates shift out to greener pastures but the big trait of the
soldier he is, he says patience is his key driver.
His loyalty to the club may be termed a lack of ambition
but Musa views it differently, and he proved it in 2015. After
featuring prominently in the team that won the league and
Top 8 Cup unbeaten in the year, he was top on a number of
teams transfer lists and with his contract running out, he
would be a perfect catch.
In this game I have come to learn that given a chance
and a topic, people will always speak but my God has
always done it for me. Waiting for my turn, or delaying my
blessings doesnt mean I am crushed. I am a very ambitious "Musa Mohammed has
player and I know my time will come. Gods timing is always
the best and you cant rush that.
never ditched Gor Mahia
I have my targets and I know I will achieve them. Loyalty for any other club since
to the club should not be mistaken for a lack of ambition,
an optimistic Musa opines. he joined them in 2009 as
While the best performers in the team in 2015 were a student at the Langata
High School."
jostling for better prospects away from the team or
agitating for bigger paychecks to renew deals, Musa,
without a fuss turned away the suitors and got himself a
new deal at Gor Mahia; and he has no regrets.
We all have our portions as planned by God; when a
team mate gets a good deal of course I wish him well

8SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017


Gor Mahia was
named the Team of
the Year in 2015,
a season Musa
Mohammed and
club legend Jerim
Onyango played
critical roles.
honestly as I wait for my chance
to come. In 2015 after winning the
league unbeaten, I would have moved
because many teams were after my
signature. Everything was well written
for me because domestically I had won
all as a player.
But then there are issues you
consider before making such decisions
and for me, I had to consult widely and
in the end it made more sense for me
to stay on, work harder for even better
prospects, he adds.
A fine run with the team has earned
the defender admiration across the
board, from the coaches he has served
under, to the management and the
fans and though his successes may
outweigh the failures, he admits, like
any normal human, he has his low and
high moments.
At some point in his career, in 2012
13, he had to spend a lot of time
on the bench, despite giving his best
efforts in training and when handed
the chance, he says this was his lowest
moment, but with a strong mentality
he got a way to work through it and
win his position in the team.
The mentality hit its peak when
he donned the armband for most of
the season in 2015 as skipper Jerim
Onyango started spending more and
more time on the bench, and he led
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
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Gor Mahia to win the league title
unbeaten.
My lowest moment was when I
spent most time on the bench. No
player wants that and especially when
you feel you are giving everything
to deserve a start. I did not give up
however and soon I started being a
regular and got back my game because
of the consistency.
Memorable 2015 KPL title
That culminated in us winning
three straight league titles. The one I
will always remember was the 2015
title, which we went all the way
unbeaten to win. That will forever be
9
COVER STORY MUSA MOHAMMED
my highest moment because achieving
that feat in a league as competitive as
ours is not easy; I think of that season
with a lot of pride for what we did as a
team, he adds.
Among the challenges Musa has had
to deal with in his career, is being a
national team regular but only called
up to play a different position from the
one at Gor Mahia. He says he takes it
as a positive challenge when handed
the right back role at international
level when at his club he excels in the
central defense position.
As a player, your master is the
coach and where you play depends on
the coachs decision. You have to be
ready always for wherever you will be
deployed so when I am selected for
the national team and told to
play at right back, I am always
ready for it.
I am comfortable playing there
just like in central defense as I do
at the club so it is a challenge that I
take positively and I am always ready
to serve my country in whichever
position, he notes.
Zico influence
For the gem that he is, Musa must
have gone through many hands and
had a lot of sharpening, we sought
to know who are the most influential
handlers he has had in his career and
in his pick of three, he said; Of all the
coaches I have worked under, there is
none that I have had a confrontation
with so it makes it hard for me to pick
who was my best coach and who was
not. But the three people that I would
really thank for my development as
a player are coach Zico (Zedekiah
Otieno), coach Agido (Gideon Ochieng)
10SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
and the Gor chairman Ambrose
(Rachier).
Zico and Agido saw in me a great
player even more than I could see
myself. They had great trust in me and
built the winning mentality in me and
in every game they gave me, I knew
I had to repay that; it was a crucial
stage for me. As for the chairman, he
was expected to reject a young boy
just from school playing for a club
with great ambitions but he chose to
trust me and I remember talking to
him once and he really encouraged
me, Musa recalls.
And just like he enjoys playing in
whichever role assigned, Musa has
no problem partnering with whoever
he is assigned in central defense.
At Gor Mahia, he has over the years
developed a great partnership with
Harun Shakava, but at the same time,
never had a problem partnering Luke
Ochieng, Bernard Odhiambo, David
Owino or the newly signed Joash
Onyango.
A two time runners up Defender
of the Year and one time Young
Player of the Year, Musa says the
secret to good partnership is etched in
communication and understanding.
As a professional you should be
able to work with anyone assigned,
without having to choose preferences.
Personally, I can work with anyone; I
have partnered with a lot of central
defenders and there has never
been a problem majorly because
we have good communication and
understanding, he notes.
New role as team captain
From the 2017 season, Musa will
fully ascend to the captaincy, replacing
Jerim, who has opted to retire and
go into politics. Here comes a new
challenge for him, an uphill task
that he knows too well, will call for
Solomons wisdom.
As Gor Mahia skipper, he knows the
roles are not limited to just the team,
the shoes, he admits, are big. Being Gor
Mahia skipper, perhaps makes one the
most powerful player in the Kenyan
Premier League.
Replacing Jerry is not easy; among
the skippers this club has ever had, I
think Jerry set the bar very
high because of his leadership
qualities and the fact that he was very
strict and offered good guidance. To
add on that, he won titles for the
club.
I know I am getting to fit into very
big shoes and I pray that it goes just
fine. Leading Gor Mahia is not only
limited to the team; you have a duty as
well to the fans and the management.
You are like the face of the club. It is
a tough job but I am settling in well
so far and I am enjoying good support
from everyone, he says.
The club suffered some big
departures in 2016 and failed to
match their heroics of the past years.
Musa wants to transform that pain
into silverware this season.
This season the target is to get
back to where we were and where I
believe we deserve to be. It is not just
about me but all of us as a club. We
want to get back the consistent
winning runs and take each day at a
time to ensure the hurt we had last
year is transformed to trophies this
season.
We are praying for the best, he
concludes.
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SOKA MAGAZINE
INTERVIEW
CLUB PROFILE POSTA RANGERS

12SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017


POSTA
RANGERS
turbulent journey towards
becoming a power house
I
By Vincent Opiyo Mvincentsopiyo
n 1999, Posta Rangers
Football Club was born. This
came after the Kenya Posts
and Telecommunications
Corporation (KPTC) was
separated into three
separate entities namely the Telkoms
Kenya, Kenya Postal Corporation and
the Communication Commission
of Kenya (CCK) with each forming
their own teams to participate in
the annual Kenya Communications
Sports Organizations (KECOSO)
games.
Having established themselves
and with sponsorship from Postal
Corporation, the team registered to
take part in the lower leagues to
work their ways to the most coveted
leagues. After two years in the lower
league, the local federation denied
them promotion for featuring in an
unsanctioned league. They didnt
give up and hurried to start afresh in
a recognized league as their journey
to the top began.
Most of our players comprised
of company workers but we had
a vision to rise to the top so after
taking part in lower leagues, we
finally got promoted to the top flight
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
www.soka.co.ke
in 2010, states one of the team
founding players John Terry currently
the teams Organizing Secretary and
Head of Logistics and Liaison.
The 2010 Kenyan Premier League
(KPL) was the seventh season of
the top tier since its inception in
2003 and the forty-seventh season
of top division football in Kenya
since 1963. In that year, the club
finished 13th on the 16-team log
with 33 points from 30 rounds after
recording seven wins, 12 draws and
11 losses.
In February 2011, the team, on its
second season in the top flight lost
its shirt sponsors, Postal Corporation.
This came as a result of the then
company bank rollers decision to
suspend sponsorship for two years
forcing the team to drop the name
Posta for Rangers FC.
Rangers FC defied all odds to
take the premier league by storm
finishing seventh on the log with 43
points that accumulated to 11 wins,
ten draws and nine defeats, that
happening in the 2011 season. They
could not withstand the pressure of
playing competitive football without
a sponsor, getting relegated in 2012.
Playing in the top league without
a sponsor was very challenging. We
13
CLUB PROFILE POSTA
NAME
RANGERS
tried to motivate players to no avail
and so we had to go down in the
2012 campaign after garnering only
24 points in 30 games, winning only
four and losing a record 14 matches.
continues Terry.
In February 2013, Postal Corporation
took back the team from well-wishers,
thanks to the new management and
signed a three-year contract to be the
sole partners. The motivation from the
players was transformed to putting up
good performances on the pitch that
saw the club finish top of the Football
Kenya Federation (FKF) Division One
Zone A Group 2 standings with 53
points from 22 games.
Promotion heartbreak
A KPL slot was staring at the Nairobi
based team but they had to seal it
with a successful promotion playoff
against Division One Zone A Group 1
leaders Kenya Revenue Authority, now
known as Ushuru FC. In the playoff
staged at the Nairobi City Stadium on
a Saturday 21st December afternoon,
Oscar Olwith and Fred Ajwang gave
the side, then coached by Leonard
Saleh, a two-nil lead but Collins
Tiego and Hassan Mohamed restored
parity to send the tie for post-match
shootouts where Jack Opere saw his
penalty saved and with that the 2014
KPL chance went begging as the
Taxmen celebrated, the mailmen went
back to the drawing board.
Wrangles have been our main
obstacle, after securing our
sponsorship back, we did well in the
second tier in 2013 and earned our
promotion to the top league only to be
told promotion was based on playoffs
hence we had to meet Group 1 leaders
14SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
KRA in a one-off playoff. Unfortunately
we lost on penalties and blew off
our opportunity. It was heartbreaking
because we had experienced players in
the team, always focused to progress,
narrates Terry.
On 10th July 2013, FKF adopted a
new league structure in the second
division. A total of 24 teams, divided
in two zones of 12 teams each would
compete with the top two teams
from each National Super League
(NSL) zone gaining promotion to the
Premier League for the 2015 season
that was set to be contested by 18
teams, up from 16. It was a change
Posta welcomed with open arms for
another fantastic display would have
seen them return to top flight but yet
If we are not careful, political
wrangles will kill Kenyan football."
- POSTA RANGERS CEO JOHN TERRY WAKHU
another obstacle lie in wait the FKF/
KPL push and pull on 16 versus 18
teams.
Having topped the inaugural NSL
on 54 points from 22 rounds, Posta
and Nakumatt FC in Zone A were
to join Zone B toppers Kakamega
Homeboyz and Shabana FC in the
KPL. FKF and KPL engaged in wars
over the management of the top-tier
league with the Sam Nyamweya led
federation insisting on an 18 team
league while the managers stuck with
16. The fights led to a FIFA delegation
stepping in to mediate, a move that
again, affected Posta Rangers who
finally squeezed their way to the 2016
KPL after a near perfect season in the
NSL.
If we are not careful, wrangles will
kill Kenyan football. For our case, we
had sponsors but had to go rounds to
reach the top, concludes Terry who
has set his sights on ensuring the club
grows to become one of the regions
great, I was in Germany recently
and lessons picked will be helpful in
putting up structures to help this team
become a football giant in the region.
With club licensing, it will be easy to
set up youth structures that will be
the foundation of steering this club to
greater heights, he says.
Despite the ups and downs, Pascal
Ochieng is one of the beneficiaries of
the team and explains how the club
has impacted his life.
Posta gave me a soft landing after
retiring from football and Im very
happy. They gave me a platform to
showcase my talent and a job after
hanging my boots and Im living a
comfortable now, notes the 30-year-
old who boasts of 32 caps and two
goals for Harambee Stars.

Posta Rangers squad for the 2017 season
Posta Rangers 2017 squad
Goalkeepers: Patrick Matasi, Martin
Musalia and Faruk Shikhalo
Defenders: Joackins Atudo, Charles Odete,
Luke Ochieng, Donald Owiti, Gilbert Owiti,
Collins Omondi, Rodgers Ochieng, Hashim
Mukwana, Simon Mbugua,
Midfielders: Jerry Santos, Joseph Mbugi,
Erick Kibiru, Simon Ogutu, Asena Ali,
Joseph Kuria, Moses Otieno, Titus Achesa
www.soka.co.ke
Forwards: John Nairuka, Joseph Nyagah,
Edwin Mwaura, Abdulraziki Mohamed,
Dennis Mukaisi, Jared Obwoge, Brian
Nyakan, Gerson Likono and Geoffrey
Kataka
Technical bench: Sammy Omollo (Head
Coach), George Maina (Assistant Coach),
Paschal Ochieng (Team Manager),
Lawrence Webo (Goalkeeper Trainer),
Bruce Juma (Team Doctor), Geoffrey
Okoth (Team Physio), Peter Muturi (Kits
Manager).
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 15
CLUB PROFILE POSTA RANGERS

We faced challenges along the appearing in 25 games, keeping 15

way but it worked out finally because
we had a pool of quality players who
kept the focus and determination in
the lower leagues until we returned
to the top. In the next five years, we
want to be one of the best teams in
the country and the East Africa region,
concluded the central defender, who
now serves as the Team Manager
having previously enjoyed professional
stints in Tanzania, Denmark and
Malaysia.
His words were seconded by yet
another renowned defender and the
current team Captain Joackins Atudo
(31). We want to pick up from where
we left last season and this time
round attempting to finish in a better
position than we did in 2016. We
have new faces whom we have been
together in preseason and ready to
hit the road running. We can assure
our management and fans that the
playing unit is focused to meet the set
objectives. As one of the senior players
in the team, my experience will be key
in leading the team, noted the three
time KPL champion with Sony Sugar
and Tusker FC (twice) who also had
professional stint in Tanzania with
Azam FC.
Atudo missed only two of the 30
league games in the 2016 season and
was named the Defender of the Year.
The run to a top high finish last
season was spearheaded by the
29-year-old Patrick Matasi who, upon
joining the club in 2015 from AFC
Leopards started as an understudy to
Kenyan international custodian Ian
Otieno but before the latter departed
for Ingwe in June 2016, Matasi had
already grabbed the first choice slot
POSTA RANGERS
FACT SHEET
Club: Posta Rangers
Football Club
Nick Name: The Mailmen
Founded: 1999 Park Hotel, Nairobi.
Ground: Thika Sub-County
Stadium
KPL Debut: 2010
Chairman: John Tonui
CEO: Ben Musuku
Patron: Daniel Kagwe
Major Achievement: was crowned goalkeeper of the year
5 KECOSO titles
(2009/10/11/13/14), GOtv
Shield runners up 2014
Star Player: Patrick Matasi
Head Coach: Sammy Pamzo' but its healthy. Shikalo (Faruk) and
Omollo
champions, Posta Rangers is among
Assistant Head
Coach, George
Maina
clean sheets all in the 2016 season,
a fete that had the former West
Sugar shot-stopper named the 2016
Goalkeeper of the Year at the Football
of the Year Awards (FOYA) ceremony
held on Tuesday 13 December at Safari
My family was against the move
to Posta Rangers but I took time to
convince them since I was confident
it was the right thing to do at the
moment.
I promised my family I was not
going to let them down and they
have seen the fruits of the move. I
and that is just the start. The Posta
deal came with a pensionable job and
there was no way I was going to turn
it down. There is stiff competition for
a starting place in goal this season
Musalia (Martin) are good custodians
and they will help me improve my
game, he concludes.
Five time KECOSO games
the few clubs that has attracted top
coaches in the country. From Ezekiel
Akwana, David Ouma, Leonard Saleh,
John Kamau to Zedekiah Zico Otieno,
the team has still maintained their
standards to hire top notch tacticians
and in November 2016, they brought
on board former Gor Mahia, Tusker
FC, Oserian FC and Sony Sugar coach
Sammy Pamzo Omollo. The 46-year-
old former Kenyan international
defender scooped the league title with
Tusker and has had coaching stints in
India with Indian top tier outfit East
Bengal, a club he left to rejoin Zetech
University FC at the close of 2016.

16SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

 www.soka.co.ke

As he was settling back in Kenya,

Omollo received a one year renewable
offer from Posta Rangers which he
couldnt turn down having admired
the team for a while, I am one of
the people who have been admiring
the team ever since and getting a
coaching opportunity is one of the
greatest thing to ever happen in my
career.

Top three target

Weve had a good preseason
program and are ready for the season.
Our immediate target is to do better
than last season and that means we
have to finish among the top three
teams. Looking at the squad at my
disposal I have nothing to worry,
its a strong team with a blend of
experienced and young players.
We lost some key players last season
but we have perfect replacements.
2017 will be a good year no doubt, he
says.
Under the management led by Posta Rangers Head Coach Sammy Pamzo Omolo
Chairman John Tonui, a lot has been
put forward to aid the success of
the club in the next five years with For the upcoming season, Tonui
employment opportunities for the notes that the team will use Thika
players as part of the policy to attract Sub-County, Afraha and Kenyatta
top talents. Stadia as their homegrounds, We "We had a good pre-
Posta Rangers is the only club that chose Thika, Afraha and Machakos season programme
offers players a job after their normal due to the unavailability of Nyayo and and are ready for the
footballing career. With this, we shall Kasarani but that said, we are ready to
be able to attract as many talented roll this season. As the management,
2017 season."
- Sammy Pamzo Omolo
players as possible because the we have put in place a motivational
sponsor already puts on the table a kitty to keep the team working
pensionable job. towards achieving our target.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 17

INTERVIEW ALFREDO RAFIMBI

Football Economics:
The business of ticketing
Football is a multi-billion industry and there are many businesses Q: Who are your main partners /
built around it. Alfredo Rafimbi realized this eight years ago in clients?
2009, focused on ticketing and has never looked back. I sat with A: We have partnered with Safaricom
him for a one on one interview and he sheds more light into the and Airtel in other aspects of the
business. business while the FKF and several
KPL clubs remain our main clients. We
have also been contracted by seven
By Jeff Kinyanjui M Nyash88 to bring out the experience achieved County Governments for daily revenue
while working for those firms as well. collection and so far we are thankful
We therefore decided to go it alone for the progress.
Q: Hi sir, your full names? and so far so good.
A: Alfredo Rafimbi Q: Any challenges youve faced so Q: How big is the company?
far? A: we are located in Nairobi CBD
Q: You look quite young to own A: Our main challenge - Football along Hakati Road, opposite Afya
and operate such a successful Fans Center at Information House 3rd
business. How old are you? Fans failure to embrace online Floor Room number 310. We have a
A: Maturity is not defined by age. Im ticketing /M-Ticketing manpower of 20 staff members on
36years old Last minutes rush to purchase permanent employment and other
the match day tickets by the 70 being on temporary basis. We are
Q: Tell us a bit about Big Brother fans also engaging at least 30 staff on
Events & Ticketing Ltd temporary basis in different counties
A: We are close knit, honest and Q: As a football business, what do in either football ticketing or daily
organized team consisting of honest you wish would change? revenue collections.
and professionals in the events A: If there would be no tickets being
management and cash handling sold on match days meaning advance Q: Is the business lucrative?
fields with strong mathematical ticketing being embraced fully by A: I can't really say its that lucrative
backgrounds around. Founded in 2009 the fans and quality tickets with but we do manage to offset bills and
with my co-partner James Odhiambo, strong security features for advance pay taxes comfortably and leave a
we have handled some of the biggest ticketing would eliminate few cases of smile on each and every employee
and most attended events without counterfeits. at the end of the day/month without
hitches and glitches. struggle.
Q: Future plans for the company?
Q: What motivated you to start Big A: Consulting further to have one of Q: Any regrets so far?
Brother? the best online ticketing management A: For now none
A: Having worked for other events systems to succeed in football
management firms before, I developed where its been a hectic for online JEFF KINYANJUI is the editor of Soka Magazine .
a passion for the job and also trying ticketing. Follow him on twitter @Nyash88

18SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

INTERVIEW JOHN BARAZA
BARAZAS
PUSH FOR SOFAPAKAS
MIRACULOUS ESCAPE
The incredible story of John Barazas transition into coaching and
Sofapakas magical survival in 2016
I
By Dan Ngulu M DanOdinga
f there is a memory
anyone associated with
Sofapaka Football Club
would want to banish
forever, it will be that
of the 2016 Kenyan
Premier League (KPL) season. A
campaign that bore more tears
than joy for the Batoto Ba Mungu
faithful as a combination of hard
luck, financial constraints and
questionable coaching tactics
underlined their season.
The dwindling fortunes for
the club were a far cry from the
profile the side came with in the
KPL; a flamboyant club President
Elly Kalekwa, who literally
transformed the view of Kenyan
football with an injection of
professionalism in the game as
well as finances that guaranteed
humongous salaries to players
which paid immediate dividends
as the team won the league title
on its debut season in 2009.
It took the masterclass of John
Baraza, a rookie in coaching,
having just retired from active
playing a season earlier to save
20SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
the team, his appointment as the
stand in coach coming late in
the season but with impressive
results and a big impact. Baraza
stepped in at the start of the
season as the assistant coach
serving under head coach David
Ouma and with a grim future
facing the club following the
withdrawal of the sponsor, Blue
Triangle a few months earlier. A
widely traveled forward who had
his best years while at Sofapaka;
the team that he spent the last
years of his career had never
finished a season outside the
top four. Baraza admits this was
the toughest period for him and
hopes never to encounter the
same.
Tough start
That was the worst season for
me and one I hope I will never
live to see again at Sofapaka.
Before that season we had never
finished outside the top four but
then here we found ourselves
always low on the table despite
our best efforts, he recalls.
Part of his tumultuous start at
the club was informed by the fact
that the club had so much going
against it. He had expected it to
be as smooth as his playing days
when he scored for fun; he was
very wrong.
For me it was very tough
because I had a lot of success
The dwindling
fortunes for the as a player at the team and I
club were a far
cry from the
wanted to continue that way
profile the side in coaching. When I stopped
came with in
the KPL playing and decided I will go
into coaching, there was only one
team I was going to start with
Sofapaka.
It was however not as easy
as I had expected; first, I had
never coached so I was short
on experience and to walk into
managing a club with all the
problems we had, especially
financial, it was very hard.
In my situation, it would
have been much easier with the
financial bit sorted and players
motivated but then I guess we
never always have it going our
way. So I had to make do with
what was there, he adds.
 www.soka.co.ke

I even
contemplated
returning
to play in the
second leg because
I trusted myself. I
had to fight down
the urge"

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 21

INTERVIEW JOHN BARAZA
The lack of financial muscle
meant the team had to make do
with untested players, throwing
them straight into the fray and
the inexperience showed with
the team managing just six
points from a possible 30 in the
opening ten games with wins
over Ushuru FC and City Stars.
The bad run called for a
change in strategy and after a
lengthy meeting to put things
clear, it was decided that a
massive haul will be conducted
at the next possible time in the
midseason transfer window.
After the opening ten games,
it was clear things were not so
good and we had to call for a
meeting with the entire club; the
players and the management to
deliberate on the way forward.
We opted for a much more
energetic transfer activity for the
second leg, with emphasis on
experienced players.
The inexperience among
the players was just one
shortcoming; Baraza, an
accomplished striker who scored
128 goals in the premier league
always cringed on the bench
when the strikers failed to guide
an otherwise easy ball to the net.
Just two months after
announcing his retirement, he
was here contemplating a return
to active playing, just to show
the youngsters how it is done. It
was a feeling that he had to fight
hard.
I was a very good striker at
my peak and there are chances
I couldnt imagine a striker
22SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
missing when I sat on the
bench as a coach. I used to talk
to the players every now and
then about the same but they
repeated the mistakes, which
made me feel so bad.
I even contemplated returning
to play in the second leg because
I trusted myself and I knew I
could convert those chances.
I had to fight down the urge
because I believed I can still
teach these players to make use
of these chances, he notes.
As June approached, it was a
foregone conclusion, Sofapaka
were strong contenders for
relegation. Baraza, though,
believed they could still survive
and after a massive walkout of
players, there was an opening
for the club to get the more
experienced heads.
The likes of Noah Abich,
Moses Odhiambo, Eric Ochieng,
Ugandan keeper Mathias
Kigonya and many more were
recruited and there was renewed
As June
approached, it hope.
was a
The market was flooded with
foregone
conclusion, a number of good, experienced
Sofapaka
were strong
players who had been released
contenders for by their teams after the first leg
relegation
and we brought them in. Just
that way we turned the season
around, he adds.
With the head coach David
Ouma more engaged with the
Kenya women national team
Harambee Starlets who were
preparing for the African Women
Cup of Nations (AWCON) in
Cameroon, the team for a large
part relied on the inexperienced
hands of Baraza.
Taking over as Head Coach
Ouma was relieved of his
duties at the team with four
matches remaining as Sofapaka
seemed all but buried and
destined for second tier football.
That came with Barazas
confirmation as the man taking
over, it turned out to be a
massive shot in the arm.

The former Kenyan
international was expected
to deliver survival with four
matches remaining, after a
season of low returns. Having
been in the team for the entire
season, Baraza knew the first
strategy would be to encourage
good communication.
Though coming late in the
season, it was a new dawn for
the club, with a new philosophy
and openness, and he says apart
from it delivering results, it also
taught him vital lessons.
The first thing I did was to
encourage good communication
flow between the management
and the players on one end and
between the coaching staff and
the players.
That worked wonders not
only in terms of the team getting
good results but also with me
learning vital lessons as far as
coaching is concerned, he notes.
He walked straight into the
firing line, having to face a
Muhoroni Youth side that had
just beaten champions Gor
Mahia to win the Top 8 Cup; a
loss in the game would have
confirmed the team as the first
to be relegated. All odds were
stacked heavily against Barazas
side on his first game in full
charge.
An aura of overconfidence
showed on Muhoroni Youth
players. Three points were
waiting. But Baraza says a
supreme being was always on
Sofapakas side guiding each of
their steps to survival.
George Maelo struck Sofapaka
into the lead after just nine
minutes and a dominant
performance followed, with
Sofapaka claiming a 2 1 win,
rekindling the hopes. The fact
that Sofapaka mostly played
after fellow relegation strugglers
also played a part, as Baraza
terms it an advantage for his
team.
When we walked onto the
pitch for every game in the
second leg, we knew a loss
would be detrimental but I also
think God Himself took care of
us because most of our matches
came after our fellow contenders
City Stars and Ushuru down
there had played.
The fact that we went to
the pitch knowing their results
presented some light at the end
of the tunnel. We knew what was
required of us and we pushed
ourselves to get it. The players
had their hearts in it and I have
to laud them for that, he opines.
The win over Muhoroni
Youth was the turning point
for the season; a signal that
there destiny depended on
their attitude heading into the
remaining three matches, first of
which was against AFC Leopards.
Leopards, giants in the KPL
were not doing so well at
the moment either. For them
safety was guaranteed but a
lot more was needed from the
team though instability on the
bench was working against the
team and Baraza sought to take
advantage.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
www.soka.co.ke
After that win, it was a bit
easier for me because the players
had morale and heading to the
game against AFC Leopards there
was just one thing we were
looking at a win. They were
also under pressure to win and
we definitely wanted to take
advantage of the wrangles at the
club, which were clearly affecting
the team, he adds.
Sofapaka went on to register
a 3 2 win but would later
squander a 2 0 lead over
Mathare United to settle for a
2 2 draw in their penultimate
game of the season.
A win over Mathare United
would have placed Sofapakas
destiny in their own hands but
with Ushuru FC also playing to
a barren draw with the already
relegated Nairobi City Stars, it
meant the final match against
Thika United was a must win,
and hope Ushuru loses to Posta
Rangers in their final game. The
club management did its bit to
clear the players dues and with
good preparations they headed
to the match eyeing nothing but
a win.
Survival
We went to the final game
knowing it was out of our hands
but the biggest hope was that
Ushuru FC were on a downward
run.
Among the things we banked
on was the past records between
Ushuru and Posta Rangers, and
we knew Rangers will really
want to win this game. Still we
23
INTERVIEW NAME
had to beat Thika United and we
prepared well for the game and
the management ensured players
were well motivated, including
paying their allowances, he
notes.
Both matches stood at 1 1 at
half time, at this point Sofapaka
was headed down. However,
the second half tilted well in
their favor, with four goals in
20 minutes as nine man Thika
United capitulated.
Ezekiel Okare and Noah Abich
helped themselves to a goal
apiece as Thika United skipper
Dennis Odhiambo and Baraka
Badi were sent off before Okare
and Moses Odhiambo struck
again to see the game end 5 1.
Still, the convincing win would
have counted for nothing had
Ushuru won or drawn with Posta
Rangers so the celebration was
muted until the results from
Kasarani streamed in that Posta
Rangers had registered a 3 1
win.
The push for survival was more
of team work and a miraculous
one, as Baraza would like to put
it but one key player who did
well in the quest for survival was
Noah Abich. Ironically, a player
dropped by Mathare United in the
first leg.
Abich went on to score five
goals and provided seven assists,
underlining his importance to the
team and Baraza says it was just
by luck that they got the defender
and one memory that he will
keep is the defenders level of
professionalism and openness.
24SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
Baraza sought to bring out
the best in the defender and
with his key attributes as a good
passer and set play specialist, the
coach felt he could serve well in
midfield, thus switched him and
it paid off.
Having watched Abich for
some time and having played
against him as well, I knew one
thing strikers beat him with
was speed. But I also wanted
someone who can make 90%
accurate passes and is also good
with dead balls.
I thus felt he can be more
helpful for us if deployed in
midfield and that is why he was
involved in about 90% of our
The former Kenyan
international was
expected to deliver
survival with four
matches remaining
goals, either with his passes, long
throws or by scoring. I am very
happy with his contribution in
the season and I thank him for
helping us survive, Baraza says.
Abich has since left for Bandari
FC and as he looks to spill his
magic in Mombasa, the defender
is glad at his contribution for
Sofapaka. He leaves with his
head high, having achieved the
targets at Sofapaka.
It was a tough season, but I
did my job and all of us at the
team at that point did our best
to ensure the team survives. I am
happy for the team and I wish
them well for the future. I think I
am ready for this new challenge
and definitely I leave with the
clubs blessings, Abich notes.
The team will open a new
chapter in the coming season
with Ugandan Sam Ssimbwa
stepping in as the new head
coach, Baraza as his assistant,
as confirmed by the club
management.
Baraza, who played under
the coach in the team in 2010,
believes Ssimbwas return will
boost the team and has laid the
way for the coach with an active
pre season schedule ahead of
SSimbwas arrival.
Ssimbwa is a good coach;
I have played in his team and
I know him well. He is a man
of few words and never has a
conflict with players as long
as they do their work and stay
disciplined.
He has been here, and has
also worked in Tanzania, Rwanda
and Uganda so he brings along
some good experience which I
will also be hoping to learn from,
Baraza notes.
As the 2017 season approaches,
Baraza is confident that they will
have a better campaign. He has
set out to ensure what happened
to the team in 2016 never recurs.
We want to go to where we
belong. We had never been below
the top four and that is where we
want to return, he concludes.
 www.soka.co.ke

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 25

 NATHAN MUNAI www.soka.co.ke
INTERVIEW

Nathan Munai
using football to
shape the youth
The incredible true story of how
the former Gor Mahia defender is
using football to influence change
in the society

I
By Terry Ouko MTerry_Ouko

t is a hot Saturday afternoon but

despite the high temperatures
fans are already at the Fedha
Grounds in Embakasi an hour
early, to watch the Football Kenya
Federation (FKF) Nairobi Regional
League game pitting Headquarter FC and
Kakakuona FC. I join the fans to watch the
match but I am still in awe since even some
top flight league matches cant draw half
the crowd already settled to watch the
match.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 27

INTERVIEW NATHAN MUNAI
Former Gor Mahia center half
Nathan Munai fondly known as
Song by teammates due to the
striking resemblance to and
same style of play with former
Cameroon International Rigobert
Song, walks towards the area
dressed in an apron and a black
pair of gumboots, not the attire
you would expect from a football
player or coach on match days.
As he comes over to greet me
with a smile, I remind him about
the interview we are supposed to
hold after the match but the look
on my eyes forces him to explain
why he is in a workmans attire.
We normally have community
service clean ups twice a month,
so I had to report to do some
voluntary work before the match.
I will be prepared in no time for
the match then we can talk later
on. He says in a huff.
I quickly ask him about his
views about the match then I
see his face drop, he however
explains that most of his players
are either in school or working
so he will have to do with the
ones who can honor the match
but a positive note, his key player
is back from School not in the
best of circumstances but at
least his presence is vital in the
team.
It is not possible to have
all my players attend a match
because some of them work
over the weekends while others
are away in school. Today our
Top scorer Derrick Otanga will
be present since they were sent
home after students went on
28SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
strike at the Masinde Muliro
University. I hope that his
presence will add the much
needed spice in our attack. He
added walking away to prepare
for the match
The match ends in a 1-1 draw
and true to Songs words Derrick
Otanga is on the score sheet
with the lone goal, but could
have been more if not for the
numerous missed chances from
the 19 year old.
Pamzo influence
Born and raised in Embakasi
Kware Ward, Song started playing
football at the tender age of five
following into the footsteps of
his brother Moses Auchi who was
playing soccer at Kamukunji High
School at the time, and then his
fathers persistence would make
him grow up with the dream of
playing football for the countrys
biggest clubs if not playing
Former Gor Mahia
centre-back professional abroad.
Nathan Munai Despite the fact that the older
is now the Head
Coach of Nairobi he got the more his aspirations
Regional League
got clouded by school, his first
side Headquarters
FC coach Sammy Pamzo Omollo
spotted him from Barca FC in his
teenage years before moving him
to his team Hamza Heroes and
later signed him at Gor Mahia.
Coach Pamzo shaped not
only my career but also my
personality as a person. He was
a father figure who offered
guidance not only in the pitch
but also took initiative to teach
us life lessons. The beauty is that
he led by example and knew
when to be tough on us. I learnt
a lot of things from him most of
which I apply now as a coach.
The newly appointed Posta
Rangers coach heaps praises on
Munai, saying that he was a hard
working boy who believed in his
capabilities apart from exercising
great leadership skills.
When I took him to Hamza
heroes, he was young but a very
intelligent centre back. A few
years later I had to sign him at
Gor Mahia because I believed
he had the will and the power
to play at the top level and he
did not disappoint. It is a sight
 www.soka.co.ke

to behold when such characters

grow into young leaders; this
can only mean that the younger
generation is in good hands with
such mentors. Pamzo said
Unfortunately Song could not
complete his education despite
the urge to complement his
football career with good grades;
when he was forced to drop out
of school due to lack of fees.
My younger years were great
with massive support from my
father who was also a soccer
player and mum who was an
ardent AFC Leopards fan and
could not miss a single league
match pitting Ingwe. My life
however took a drastic turn when
my parents passed on and I could Munai now moulds future stars at Headquarters FC
not find a way to pay for my
education prompting me to drop staff, a move he says was
out in form four. inspired by the rising number
The setback however did not of delinquents in Pipeline and
kill his determination to play Embakasi area.
football a passion he believes I wanted to see the talented
runs in the family. In 2002, Song youths venture into football
started playing for lower-tier since most of them engaged in
side Kenyatta National Hospital crime due to peer pressure and
FC, a team he settled well in "I am so idleness. It did not occur to me
until 2007 before he joined Gor that football would help turn
passionate
Mahia in 2008 where he played things around, but there was no
until 2010 before picking a
about coaching harm in trying. Football to me
nasty knee injury. He later joined youngsters would act as a tool for change.
Mahakama, Mombasa based because I was The reason Im passionate about
Congo United and Naivashas once a player and not just coaching but imparting
Karuturi Sports before joining I know how short life skills on the young boys as
Headquater in 2012. this career can be. well, is because I have been in
their place and I know how short
I want to impart
Knee complications football as a career can be.
His knee developed another
life skills into the There was one setback though;
complication while at players to prepare he did not have any financial
Headquarter and he therefore them for the support to sustain the team. He
decided to join the coaching future." then decided to walk by faith

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 29

INTERVIEW NATHAN MUNAI
and would urge the players to
take up jobs and further their
education besides playing
football. As a result, he has
had to deal with missing his
key players even in the league
matches but that did not bar him
from finishing second in Zone B.
The journey has been marred
by many challenges since we
do not have a consistent cash
flow but mostly depend on
30SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
well-wishers and our area MP
who once in a while facilitate
our transport to matches. I have
always encouraged my boys to
go to school or take up honest
jobs in order to avoid engaging
in crime to earn a living. I also
urge my boys to use our team
as a stepping stone to join the
top leagues; most of them dont
deserve to play down here. I want
a bright future for them.
Projects
In a bid to sustain the team,
Song started a farming project
where he would engage willing
parties to plant vegetables for
commercial purposes but the
project met challenges when the
owner of the farm land evicted
them. He then started Garbage
collection and cleanups as well
as supplying clean water which
is a challenge in Pipeline area.
From the projects, the players
earn something to sustain them.
We have started a garbage
collection project; we also sell
fresh water in the neighborhood.
It has not reached the level we
would like it to be but we hope
the small beginning can give rise
to something great.
On meeting Song, he appears
to be reserved coach who cannot
call the shots or back orders, but
on the contrary his players say
that he is a strict disciplinarian
and reckless behavior meets
suspension. Kelvin Kyalo who
bagged the Most Valuable
player accolade in Headquarters
debut at the annual Koth biro
tournament and moved to
Division one side Savannah
Cement, says that Song is tough
as a coach but very gentle and
caring as a friend.
In every team there will
always be that one player
that gives the technical bench
problems, but the coachs
punishment is simple. He
suspends you from the team
and lets you ponder over your
mistakes outside the team even
if you are the best player. I have
often believed that this team is
destined for greatness and here
we are more of a family. We go to
other clubs but during our breaks
this is where we run back to.
Kyalo said
Munai who has done an
impeccable job with the youth
in Pipeline area, has started
attending the FKF coaching
courses and says he plans on
furthering his studies to enable
him get the requisite documents
for him to freely coach any team
in the country.
My aim is to attend the
coaching courses to the highest
level in order to enable me coach
any level without restrictions in
the country. I would also like to
steer Headquarter to reach the
top tier league in my long term
plans.
Notably, he runs an annual
tournament once a year in
August for both boys and girls
and as a result a girls team
(Embakasi Ladies) that plays in
the FKF Nairobi County League
(NCL) was formed.
 AMOS NONDI STAR www.soka.co.ke
ON THE RISE

Star on
the rise:
AMOS
NONDI

20-year old Amos Nondi was one of the shining

stars in a rather lackluster 2016 season for Gor
Mahia. He has now set his sights on cementing his
position at Gor Mahia and moving to Europe in the
near future, writes Vincent Opiyo

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 31

STAR ON THE RISE AMOS NONDI
H
e was one of the
shining stars in
Gor Mahia last
season despite the
team struggling to
replicate the form
that saw them lift the Kenyan Premier
League (KPL) title in 2015. Amos Nondi
always dreamt of joining the Green
Army but his journey to the team was
not swift. He had to try out with the
junior side, Gor Mahia Youth where
he shone and was later sent on loan
to Sony Sugar FC. This is where he
matured as a player and after half a
season he finally realized his dream of
joining KOgalo.
Born in a family of four and bred
on the East side of Nairobi - Githurai,
Nondi started kicking the ball while
at Roysambu Primary School and later
in his early stages featured in the
Githurai AllStars different age group
categories before joining Thur Gem
High School in 2010. While at the
school, the midfielder represented
them in the secondary ball games until
completing his O-level studies in 2013.
Golden chance at Gor Youth
Nondi first tried out with Gor
Mahia Youth early in 2014. The newly
launched team under the tutelage of
Coach Maurice Onyango and the late
Zablon Pro Onyango was looking for
around 25 players but over 100 had
shown up for the weeklong trials and
this intimidated him.
We were so many players, each
fighting for a chance to join the
youth team. The midfielders were, to
be honest, good and you had to be
a cut above the rest to be retained.
Since I was good at set pieces, I could
32SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
scramble for them whenever we were
awarded though it wasnt easy again.
My chance came when I decided
to rush and take a free kick and
fortunately I scored and thats how I
sealed my chance.
Despite impressing, coaches could
bench me during league games until
coachs favourite player Ishmael fell
sick and the rest is history.
Having cemented his position in the
team, Nondi was a cog in the teams
midfield department, scoring crucial
goals as they sealed promotion to the
Nairobi Provincial League. While at the
youth team, he made 24 appearances
scoring 13 goals in a period of six
months.
Clubs came calling for his services
among them Nakumatt FC who were
eying at promotion to the top flight.
George Ouma, then Nakumatt FCs
team manager looked to have been
attracted by Nondis quality on set
pieces, dribbling and passing
but Gor Youths chairman Chris
Omondi opted for a loan spell at Sony
Sugar FC.
Nakumatt Captain Nzuki (Peter) is
my close friend and he informed me
the team was interested in my services.
I was ready to join the team but Chris
informed me they had reached an
agreement with Sony and off I went to
Awendo,
At Awendo, I thought I was going to
sign but was subjected to two weeks
trials under coach Zico (Zedekiah
Otieno). I eventually joined the
team officially and it is a period that
strengthened me mentally as a player,
narrates Nondi who later made four
appearances for the millers before
returning to Nairobi to pen a three

Nondi, second from left on the front row, says his period at Sony Sugar FC strengthened him as a player
year deal with Gor Mahia on Thursday
31st December, 2015.
"I knew it wasn't going to be a walk
in the park at Gor Mahia and prepared
myself mentally. The club has quality
players in my position which I keep
learning from day to day. My time
will for sure come and I will be a key
member in the team, Nondi says with
a determined voice having already
attracted Head Coach Jose Marcelo
Ferreiras praise.
He (Nondi) is still young and will
for sure develop into a better player.
Whenever he comes in as a substitute
he changes the dimension of the
game and thats the kind of impact you
would want from a substitute. He is
young and will grow, noted the former
Brazilian international.
In five years time, Nondi who
has so far played 23 games in the
2016 competitions scoring a goal
and an assist, in the event bagging
the October Soka Fans Player of the
Month accolade says would like to
breakthrough in top European leagues.
Osborne Monday and Iniesta
inspiration
Every player would like to play in
top European leagues and I have a
5-year plan to get there. I pray and
work every day to see that dream
come to fruition, states Nondi who
draws inspiration from midfield
kingpins Osborne Monday (Kariobangi
Sharks) and FC Barcelonas Andres
Iniesta.
The two, as well as my parents
inspire me. My dad played football in
his heydays and he keeps advising me.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
www.soka.co.ke
My mum just wants me to succeed and
she is always calls me before matches
to wish me the best, he says.
Nondi boasts of two junior caps for
the Kenya U20 team in the 2017 Africa
U20 Cup of Nations (AFCON) and an
international friendly match away to
South Africa U20 where he was the
Captain.
Captaining the National U20
team and two, winning a monthly
award and man of the match plaudits
in the GOtv Shield match against
Mombasas Mahakama last year at
Kasarani Stadium are achievements
I will always remember and cherish,
concludes Nondi who was an unused
substitute for Harambee Stars
during international friendly games
against Sudan, Tanzania, Liberia and
Mozambique.
33
DERBIES VIHIGA VERSUS PALOS

VIHIGA By Fabian OdhiamboMFabian_ clash in mid-November; the first duel

M
Odhiambo in Mumias Sports Complex having

UNITED
ended in a one-all stalemate. One of
ichael Isabwa those few things however was not a
Misigos first 4-0 win for the visitors. So great was

VS PALOS touch is a push

on the ball with
the home side's fall that, unnerved as
its fans were, ten minutes from the

FC the outside of
his right boot,
final whistle, every seat was vacant.
I was surprised, and Ive never

Peers Tailoring
and as the two cross the centre-line, fully understood what happened on
a generous chunk of unoccupied astro that evening. This has always been a

A Regional turf stretches all the way to Kennedy

Oumas goalpost. In here, he will task
Clasico the Palos FC goalkeeper with the
honor of-for the 3rd time in the match,
plucking the ball from the back of his
net.
A few things were certain when
Vihiga United traveled to Kisumu for
the two teams reverse 2016 league
close tie as evidenced by our first leg
encounter of the same season. Palos
simply never showed up and we still
wonder why, says Manoah Edward,
victorious on that day as Vihiga United
secured three massive points to keep
the hopes of a top four finish alive.
That was week 34 of the National
Super League (NSL) and both teams,

34SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017


debutants in the 2nd tier, obviously
had put in a creditable amount of work
to be lying in the top half of the table
standings at such a time in the season.
Vihiga United versus Palos turns four
this year, three seasons of close scores,
controversy and a conglomerate of the
blue, red, yellow and green colors in
their entire beauty. Plainly dubbed the
junior mashemeji derby, its difficult
for any football fan from the Western
part of Kenya not to resolve this
fixture in ones to-do list. Geography
doesnt help either, as only 25 miles
separate these two teams training
grounds. While Vihiga United take
their instructions every morning at
the Chavakali High School grounds,
half an hours drive away has Palos
taking their own at the Moi Stadium in
Kisumu. For this proximity therefore,
home advantage is as good as naught.
Fans travel in droves, with both the
County Government of Vihiga and the
Makini Schools-sponsors of the two
clubs-striving to outdo each other in
who ferries the most.
The first face-off comes in 2014 in
the Super league- at the time- Kenyas
third tier of football. Vihiga United has
just been formed from a number of
now defunct clubs; chief among them
being Chavakali United. Palos on the
other hand, has won the 2013 edition
of the Provincial League unbeaten,
hence the promotion into the third
tier. Victor Manuel, a centre-half, is
ironically Palos top scorer as the
now two-year old club seeks to chart
fresher frontiers. It wont be a surprise
then, that the brawny defender would
prove the difference in the first ever
match between Palos and Vihiga
United, a fixture staged at the dreaded
Vihiga United
versus Palos,
dubbed
the Junior
Mashemeji
Derby turns four
this year
Kondele Carwash grounds. The
return leg is a square affair, a barren
stalemate at the Chavakali High
School as the pioneers of this fixture
lay the foundations to what in a few
years would become a regional clasico.
The end of the 2014 Super League
season has Vihiga United as champs
on goal difference, second place on
the 16 team log is- of course- Palos FC.
The two however do not qualify for the
2nd tier due to the domestic football
wrangles that marred Kenyan football
at the end of 2014.
The idea that rivalries are borne
of derision will be obliterated right
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
www.soka.co.ke
from the start, and to help set this up
are two special players. Jacob Atinda
ditches Palos FC for Vihiga United
while John Vincent Wonder does the
exact opposite. Smooth transfers. The
season 2015 should start already.
I have played in all the six
competitive matches pitting Palos and
Vihiga United- three on either side,
and the pressure to win that comes
with it is the same from both ends,
Atinda reminisces. It didnt look too
huge the first time we played at the
Kondele Carwash grounds, and the
enormity of the fixture only became
certain to us when we went for the
2nd leg at the Chavakali High school.
Having beaten Vihiga in the first
leg, all they wanted was revenge,
what moved us however, was the
fan-turnout on that day. If one had a
keen eye, you could see that this was
the beginning of something special,
continues Atinda who has been on
the end of three wins out of the six
matches between the two sides.
John Vincents sojourns between
the two clubs has him in Green and
Yellow when the season 2015 begins.
He too, just like Atinda, has reveled in
the support offered to both teams. He
too, has had pangs of remorse at the
sight of his former team falling by his
design. It was Vincent who intercepted
a lose Palos pass in the two teams
first leg clash of 2015 and gifted it
to the evergreen Amos Kigadi for the
lone goal of the match, and the first
for Vihiga over Palos. Retribution had
been served by an old boy.
As if the previous years results
had acted cue, the reverse clash of
the 2015 season ended square, only
this time, goals were actually scored.
35
DERBIES VIHIGA VERSUS PALOS
Former Friends College of Kaimosi
winger Michael Isabwa had sent the
visitors up at the Moi Stadium in
Kisumu, a goal equaled by Palos left-
back Geoffrey Ochieng in the second
half. Four matches played, one win
for each, two draws. Qualification
is guaranteed this time as there is
relative calm in the countrys football
governing body. Vihiga United have
finished top once again, and Palos
second. This time its a point that
separates the two but both will storm
into the second tier.
On facing ones old club, John
Vincent sees a cakewalk whenever
he has to play against his former
teammates. To be honest, I have never
had difficulty in facing opposition that
were once my family. The team tends
to focus on you and if you can convert
all that attention directed at you into
something positive, winning is always
easy, says Vincent, who at the moment,
36SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
has switched back to Palos FC and
will be in Blue and Red for the 2017
National Super League season.
You would be mistaken to assume
that John Wonder and Jacob Atinda are
the only household names within the
circles of this rivalry. Far from it, Vihiga
United versus Palos only does quality
produce. Players that leave these two
walk straight into the starting eleven
of their Premier League destinations,
and Kenneth Muguna bagging the
Kenyan Premier Leagues Most
Valuable Player accolade is testament
enough to what this fixture that
envelopes two neighboring counties
can do. Michael Isabwa, with three
goals from the six matches he played
in this regional contest, is now in
the ranks of Premier League side
Kariobangi Sharks. Bernard Ondiek
(Western Stima), George Odiwuor
(Kakamega Homeboyz), Said Tsuma
(Thika United), Derrick Nzosi (Mathare
United), Sydney Ochieng (Tusker),
Edmond Adem Balaa (Thika United),
Clifford Omondi (Chemelil Sugar) and
Timothy Ludda (Thika United) are all
starters in their respective stations,
evidence of the brief but methodical
thorough-breeding that goes on in this
part of the footballing world.
Palos head coach Paul Ogai has
been on the touchline four times
against Manoah Edward, and the
former has a few regrets- unlike his
compatriot.
2017 would have been different for
both clubs. Had we done a few things
differently in the past, we both would
be playing in the Premier League by
right, says Ogai who at 33 is one of
the youngest coaches in the local
scene.
One can virtually form two
formidable premier league sides from
the mass of exits that have left the
two clubs for greener pastures in the
past and it is here that Ogai has his
qualms.
We recruit well, I mean, look at
the bulk of the players whove been
here. Though we can never hold
back talent, it saddens that a player
youve moulded into what they are
can no longer be sustained by the
club. All the same, its always a joy
to see them continuing to excel at
their next stations, continues Ogai
who was one of the Football Kenya
Federation (FKF) instructors at the
2017 series of coaching courses by the
countrys football governing body. His
opposite number though, only rues the
progression setback. Edward Manoahs
vision for Vihiga United football
club was one borne of the need to
set up a platform for the countys

talented youth, and prepare them for
a prosperous career after leaving the
club.
When we started we didnt realize
how fast this would grow. We in fact
just wanted to give the many talented
youth within the county a stage that
would see them land on fertile spots
in the countrys top tier, says Manoah
who at the moment, has just roped
in two form four leavers in his squad.
Zablon Khaemba (Ebwali Secondary
School) and Mophat Lwiva (Muhudu
Secondary School) are the freshest
blood youll find in the team.
Weve had success stories in the
likes of Michael Isabwa and Nzosi
Derrick. Amos Kigadi even though
still with us, has been in the national
team twice and that is huge for the
club, a perceptibly elated Manoah
says. A parallel look at Palos and
the list flows further downwards.
Sydney Ochieng, Kenneth Muguna,
Shaphan Oyugi, Salim Hamisi, Bernard
Ondiek, Said Tsuma all were taken in
by the Kisumu-based side just after
completing their form four exams.
Some two in fact, (Gad Mathews and
Selemani Manjenga) signed for Palos
while still in year three of their high
school journey. Even though the above
mentioned names have all left the
club for greener pastures, Ogai hasnt
given up. Collins Wendo, Vincent
Etyang and Boaz Maeri are the latest
signed by Palos barely months after
completing high school.
Just like the players it has produced,
it is a competition Manoah doesnt
want to see manipulated. The quest
for supremacy, he insists- is what
has made the tie what it is and only
wants it to be about football like
Head to Head Played Won
Vihiga United 6 2 (1-0, 0-4)
Palos FC 6 1 (1-0)
it has always been. As much as he
envies East Africas most famous clash
pitting AFC Leopards versus Gor Mahia,
Manoah is only careful to take up
positives from the two giants rivalry.
Given the pacey growth we have
witnessed, I believe we can get to the
heights Gor and Leopards have set in
TOP SCORERS LIST
Isabwa Michael Vihiga United
Kigadi Amos Vihiga United
Ochieng Geoffrey Palos FC
Manuel Victor Palos FC
Okulo Patrick Vihiga United
Mugisha Ivan Palos FC
Masinza Christopher Vihiga United
the many years of existence between
the two clubs, he offers. I love the
fact that for us down here, people
just want to see football played and
nothing more. We may be enemies
on the field of play but at the end of
ninety we are friend again, thats how
I have always known football to be,
Manoah concludes.
As has been the tradition, the 2017
season begins with both sets of teams
having lost a few key players to older
and more established premier league
clubs. United definitely will miss the
pace Mike Isabwa offered on the right
flank as well as the shrewd dominance
Geoffrey Odiwuor exercised in the
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
www.soka.co.ke
Drawn Lost
3 1
3 2
midfield. Palos has to do without
Sydney Ochieng, Eddy Balaa and
Gad Mathews. Jacob Atinda and John
Vincent Wonder- both midfielders-
have only traded places and it will be
interesting to see who will be missed
the most as each of them commences
yet another season in a jersey they
3 (2015 away, 2016 away)
2 (2015 home, 2016 away)
1 (2015 home)
1 (2014 home)
1 (2016 home)
1 (2016 away)
1 (2016 away)
wore two years ago.
Sport is just one of the many
avenues of interaction between the
people of Kisumu and Vihiga Counties,
regions that-until four years ago- had
been starved of an identifiable football
team that each would perhaps deem
their own. As Vihiga United and Palos
took their baby steps a couple of
years back, few could have imagined
what spectacle the two would
fashion whenever they met. Only six
competitive matches have been played
yet the immensity in the fan-turnout
is electrifying. We may have just seen
the birth of an alternative to the
Mashemeji Derby as we know it.
37
INTERVIEW VIHIGA NAME
DERBIES VERSUS PALOS

"We may be
enemies in the
field of play but
at the end of the
ninety minutes
we are friends
again."
- Vihiga Head Coach,
Edward Manoah

38SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017


Full Names: Cavin Odongo Ouma
Nick Name: Junior
DOB: 20th October 1996
National team caps: 2
Schools:
Primary - Githurai Primary School
Secondary - Upper Hill
University - Riara University
Clubs: Kitengela Shooters
Posta Rangers FC
Kariobangi Sharks
CAVIN ODONGO
CAVIN
ODONGO:
From the dusty
fields of Githurai
to a potent striker
I
By Zachary Oguda Mzaxoguda
n November 2016, the
Kenya national team head
coach Stanley Okumbi gave
a chance to a number of
new faces ahead of friendly
matches against Liberia and
Mozambique. Of the new faces,
one name, Cavin Odongo stuck
on everyone's lips after giving a
good account of himself in the
matches.
The pressure of donning the
national team colors can be
enormous but Odongo grabbed
the chance with both hands and
showed why he is one of the best
young talents we have around.
For many Harambee Stars fans,
the former Kitengela Shooters
striker may bring back memories
of Dennis Oliech. If Odongo is
half as good as Oliech, the fans
will be more than pleased given
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
INTERVIEW
the shortage of forwards to fully
replace the legend.
Lessons from the best
I have been compared to
so many strikers in and out of
the country but I try so hard
to play my game. I know there
were good strikers before me
and I what I can pick from them
are lessons. The comparisons
are things you cant get out of
the game, but I want people to
remember me as Cavin Odongo
not anyone ELSE, the soft-
spoken striker tells Soka in a
show of how confident he is of
his abilities.
Born and raised in the
outskirts of Githurai, a Nairobi
neighborhood mostly epitomized
by drugs, gangs and every
negative thing that comes with
living in the slums, Odongo hails
39
INTERVIEW CAVIN ODONGO

his parents as people who ensured he

was always on track.
It (Githurai) is very pleasant. I have
fond memories of playing football on
the streets with kids. People have a
negative image of the neighborhood
and it pisses me off because its a nice
place. Its true people there on many
occasions find themselves in activities
that are not helpful and just as any
other vulnerable youth, I would have
found myself in a wrong group were
it not for my parents. They ensured I
was brought up in the right manner
and there was no day they allowed me
to slip off the way. I am where I am
because of them, Odongo opines.
Joining Githurai Primary School
gave him the needed environment to
do what he was to do for the rest of
his life-playing football. His prowess
with the ball started when he was
in class four where he would join
players who were ages ahead of him.
After the completion of his Kenya
Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE)
examinations, Odongo was enrolled at
Upper Hill School where he believes
his rise to stardom started.
I started playing this game at a very
tender age and when I was in class
four (upper primary) I used to join
players who were older than me and I
matched them stride for stride. I joined Liberty Sports Academy while in 2005 and 2006. The experience was
Upper Hill for my secondary school secondary school. Liberty Academy amazing and being part of that trip
education and I feel that is the place is acclaimed for its youth structures; made me feel like a real footballer. The
I got the exposure and the skills I most recently, it has produced top other trip I made was when I was in
needed to play the game, Odongo says. players, like Michael Olunga, who secondary school when we represented
Odongo admits he looks up to. Upper Hill in an Airtel Rising Stars
MYSA influence I think I made it upon myself that Tournament in Nigeria in 2013. Those
Odongo had a perfect youth career I was going to play football for the are some experiences that I cherish,
after being snapped by Mathare Youth rest of my life after I made the MYSA Odongo remarks.
Sports Association (MYSA) while in Under 13 squad that represented By the time, he was completing his
primary school and the renowned the organization in Norway Cup in secondary school education, it was

40SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017


evident that Odongo would not fall
short of suitors. Kitengela Shooters,
then plying their trade in the Division
One contacted Odongo to join them
to continue with his development but
another thing came up.
Odongos parents wanted their son
to continue with education for the
security of his future, an idea which he
supported fully.
I wanted to pursue football as
a career but my parents wanted
something more; they advised that
I enroll for a course after my fourth
form. Riara University offered me
a short scholarship in Information
Certificate Technology (ICT) which
I duly did during my part time as a
Kitengela Shooters player. It was hard
to balance both school and football
but I had the support of my family and
they ensured I competed my course,
Odongo remarks.
Odongos star was rising as days
unfolded and he knew he wasnt
going to be in the Division One for
long.
I knew I wasnt going to stay for
long at Kitengela since I had started
receiving offers from teams in the
Kenyan Premier League (KPL) and
I wanted to make a decision that I
wouldnt regret. After consulting the
people around me, I settled for Posta
Rangers and I havent looked back
since then,Odongo continued.
New challenge
Adapting to a new league with new
demands had a toll on the striker but
he mentions coach Zedekiah Zico
Otieno as someone who ensured he
progressed steadily without hiccups.
As a player, I will always want to
start games but when I arrived at
Rangers, I started a few games. Zico
used to explain his decisions and he
took me as his son and I realized he
was helping me then. Adapting to the
new environment was challenging
at first but as soon as I had my foot
on the pedal it was all systems go,
Odongo remarks.
For someone who believes in his
abilities, his call to the national team
under the guidance of coach Stanley
Okumbi in November 2016 didnt
come as a surprise for him. The timing
Odongos star
was rising as days
unfolded and he knew
he wasnt going to be
in the Division One for
long
might have been a surprise but in him
he has always believed that he was to
represent the nation at some point.
I had represented the national team
at the Under 17 level in 2012 and I
knew my debut for the national team
was just a matter of time. I knew one
day I was to represent my country at
a senior level so when I received the
call up, my dream had come true. Every
footballer will always like to represent
his country of birth but it isnt an easy
task. National teams are not like club
teams, you might be there today and
tomorrow you are nowhere. You just
have to make sure that every time you
have been summoned to represent
Kenyans you give your best and build
on your performance.
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
www.soka.co.ke
Kariobangi Sharks
On his next move and the people he
admires in the game, Odongo admitted
it was hard to leave Rangers because
he considered them a family after
giving him the platform that he had
craved for since he was youngster.
Joining Sharks despite having
several offers was based on one major
factor and that was the teams trust in
youth policy. I had a talk with the club
management and the coach and when
I saw the list I knew I was joining a
group of enthusiastic young footballers
who were willing to learn and work
together, he says.
I know there will be competition for
places, given the new faces in the team
and the preexisting players but as long
as it is positive competition I believe it
will be for the betterment of the team.
I'll wait for my opportunity and utilize
it," he concludes.
Internationally, Odongo looks up to
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema
and is also a keen follower of Kenyan
striker Michael Olunga who recently
signed for Chinese Super League (CSL)
side Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng FC.
Benzema (Karim) inspires me
not only with his finishing but his
ruthlessness in front of goal and the
urge to help his teammates. In Kenya,
I admire Olunga (Michael). We share
a lot of things in common and seeing
the way he has progressed gives me a
lot of confidence that I can make it too.
I speak with him a lot and we share
a lot; I just hope that I can inspire
many people too as he does, Odongo
concludes.
The aim now for Cavin Odongo
is surely to be the main man at
Kariobangi Sharks.
41
WOMEN FOOTBALL OLD IS GOLD
JAMES
WAITHAKA:
The unsung hero
transforming lives of slum
women and single mothers
through football
T
By Terry Ouko MTerry_Ouko
he world over, tales
are told of humble
beginnings; of a small
idea that grew from
that light bulb moment
to be a world mover, all
reminiscent of the biblical parable of
the mustard seed where the smallest
of the seeds germinate and become
the biggest tree in a garden, where
birds come to perch.
Such is the story of Old is Gold Slum
Youth (OGSY) Kenya, a community
based project aimed at using
football for social improvement and
community development that started
in 2002, to become the big tree that
offers a shade to the talented women
42SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
footballers coming from humble
backgrounds.
James Waithaka founded the
project that came to be a flourishing
organization, with the basic aim then
being to use football to improve the
lives of the many talented women in
the slum, and the Mathare slums were
his launching pad with the area being
home to many single mothers who
well talented.
In 2012, when UNICEF in
partnership with the Ministry of
Sports were the official sponsors of
Kenyas top womens top league, the
Women Premier League, Old is Gold
ladies football team was among the
best teams. The same year, three
players from the team namely Mural
Auma, Wendy Achieng and Doris
 www.soka.co.ke

BLAST FROM THE PAST: Old is Gold pose for a group

photo before a previous match. The team could make a
comeback this season in the Women Premier League

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 43

WOMEN FOOTBALL OLD IS GOLD
Anyango made it to the Harambee
Starlets Under 20 national team. Little
did women football enthusiasts know
that OGSY as it is fondly known was an
initiative whose aim was to undertake
activities that were way beyond just
playing the beautiful game.
Community development
Old is Gold Slum Youth (OGSY)
Kenya is a community based
development project which is
designed to link football social
improvement and community
development activities. James
Waithaka who is the founder of the
organization says his aim was to
use football to improve the lives of
the many talented women in the
slum, who came from very humble
backgrounds. He therefore ventured
into working with women who were
mostly single mothers in Mathare
slum.
They say charity begins at home
44SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
and having grown in Mathare Valley,
the area became Waithakas target
community by virtue of having
experienced the hardships in the area
first hand overcrowding due to the
high population, inadequate housing,
lack of playing grounds and high crime
rate due to unemployment.
The rising cases of sexually
transmitted infections due to
inadequate information on life skills
and reproductive health to positively
influence the girls decision making,
poverty and inability to afford basic
needs let alone the luxury of giving
their children a decent education were
enough calls for action, as Waithaka
puts across.
When I saw the rising number of
single mothers in the society, my heart
reached out to them. I was yearning to
do something that would change lives
even if just in a small way. The first
thing that came to mind was football.
Many talented young girls were going
into crime and getting pregnant way
too early and therefore dropping out
of school. My vision was to find a way
to help, but by that time I did not quite
know where to start. Waithaka says.
One of the players who joined OGSY
when it started was Miseta Waweru
who by then had gone for the annual
Mathare Youth Sports Association
(MYSA) trials for the annual Norway
Cup but did not make the cut.
But why did he settle on the
name Old is Gold?
One of the reason cited for missing
out was that some of them were above
the set age limit, hence could not
compete in the under 14 category. She
narrates how coach Waithaka found
them distressed outside MYSA offices
and gave them hope.
"When coach found us distressed
outside the MYSA offices, he told us to
be happy and uttered the words Old is
Gold, in reference to us," she says.

He then decided to form a team and
we effortlessly had a name. I had lost
hope in football and having dropped
out of school, I was bound to go back
home, continue languishing in poverty
and keeping bad company. But coach
Waithaka revived our hopes and we
were back in the playing unit. Mise
said.
The experience of OGSY for the last
14years working with girls and young
mothers has not been a rosy affair,
Waithaka confessed. He says his efforts
have been marred by obstacles along
the way, often by societal stereotypes
who had formed opinions that a man
could not handle a women project
single handedly without harboring
some ill motives. They strongly
believed he was conspiring something
fishy aimed at satisfying his personal
gains.
When I started this project
some parents did not welcome the
idea, there was a point I was badly
beaten up by unknown assailants
who claimed I was misleading the
girls I coached. In reality, my goal
was to incorporate female headed
households, who played football
and worked in the unreliable low
income job sectors. This affected their
ability to meaningfully contribute
towards their children upbringing and
education. The children are therefore
left to spend most of their time with
their peers who influence
their behaviours hence contributing
to the ills in the society. Waithaka
remarked
OGSY has managed to pull funds
through groups of well-wishers from
different countries like Norway who
believed in the idea. The funds have
been used to get medical covers for
the members and their children as
well as offering small loans to act as
startup capital for their businesses.
The organization has also been able
to buy an acre of land in Ruai along
Kangundo road, Nairobi where houses
have been built for the members
who are required to live there for at
least three years and move out after
securing stable jobs and businesses.
Some members have also been able to
go back to school through the project
and have secured jobs.
"I have been in the
program for a long
time, OGSY took me
in with my child as
a single mother and
housed me before
helping me get a
medical cover and
then took me to
KCA to further my
studies."
FLORENCE KADZO
Beneficiaries
Juliet Auma who is currently playing
for Thika queens but was at OGSY
for over a decade, says she had lost
hope when she joined OGSY but the
organization schooled her and she is
now stable and working.
When I joined OGSY we were an
active football team but besides that
people who wanted to go to school
were given the opportunity, we were
housed and after completing my
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
www.soka.co.ke
computer classes successfully, I
landed a job at Alive and Kicking, a
company that manufactures balls
and organizes football clinics. I am
currently stable and living on my own
thanks to the organization that Im still
a part of. The only reason I decided
to play for Thika was because OGSY
could not take part in the league since
it had to complete its projects. Auma
said
OGSY also organizes clinics to train
girls under the age of 15 on life skills.
There have been several training for
footballers who are currently coaches
trained by KNVB for instance Martha
Karimi who was at the organization
but is now a coaching instructor.
Life after football
I joined OGSY as a player but while
there, I had an opportunity to attend
various coaching courses some in
Netherlands, it was very insightful
to start viewing life from a wider
perspective and start preparing for
life after football. At one point coach
Waithaka would delegate coaching
duties to us and just sit at the
periphery and watch us take charge.
He strongly believed in empowering
women to run their own activities as
he oversees. This contributed to my
growth, I left OGSY since I believe
I can now stand own my own but it
indeed offered a platform and was a
great eye opening experience. Karimi
said with wry smile.
Florence Kadzo explains that
OGSY has turned her life around by
taking her to college, is currently
independent but still in the program.
I have been in the program for a
long time, OGSY took me in with my
45
INTERVIEW
WOMEN FOOTBALL NAME
OLD IS GOLD
child as a single mother and housed
me before helping me get a medical
cover and then took me to KCA to
further my studies. I am currently
working with the Judiciary in
Kerugoya thanks to the organization
that basically stopped giving me fish
and showed me how to get it. I can
now stand on my own two feet
and fend for my family. Kadzo
told Soka.
Others include Joan Ohanga who
through OGSY managed to
further her education and is currently
working with the Kenya Airports
Authority. Caroline Wairimu a single
mother of a 6-year-old who is running
her business after securing a loan
to start her salon business as well
as Rosemary Kadondi the current
harambee starlets kit manager who
also joined the programme as a single
mum.
Housing
The organization gives its members
who are mostly slum dwellers the
most basic need which is shelter. The
construction project was started in
order to relocate the players from the
slum, after it was exposed to various
risks including houses being torched
during the post-election violence
period. The players are currently living
with their kids in the complete houses
in Ruai.
School
Besides the residential houses, Alta
School, a name adopted from one of
the programme's sponsor, has been
constructed and is currently up and
running from pre-school to class three
with the players' kids learning on full
46SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
scholarships while some of the players
work as teachers.
Medical
Since slum dwellers are generally
unable to access proper medical
attention despite the exposure and
risk at hand, the core aim of the
organization was to provide members
and their children with medical
covers in order to enable them get
peace of mind by the fact that all the
medical expenses from treatment to
consultation plus medicine are taken
care of hence healthcare is assured.
Life skills
In order to alleviate cases of
rampant teenage pregnancies, Sexually
Transmitted Diseases and crime
engagement, OGSY has integrated
health education. This is done by
trained peer educators within the team
who manage to empower at least
1500 young people yearly.
Football
Since the mainstay of the
organization is football, it has
acquired a field where a hall is under
construction and will not only be
used for football but for life skills
facilitation as well. The Football
academy and workshop training is
aimed at transforming the target
youths life positively. OGSY also
organizes soccer clinics to train
girls under the age of 15, as they
incorporate life skills. There have been
several training for footballers who
are currently coaches trained by KNVB
for instance Martha Karimi who was at
the organization but is now a coaching
instructor.
Vocational Training
OGSY currently has 50 young
mothers forced to drop out of school
due to pregnancy. Their children aged
one month to 7 years. Since they lack
skills to access jobs, short courses
like Computer classes, hair dressing
and catering are being offered to
them. After successful training, 14 of
them have been linked to potential
employers while some are running
their own businesses.
Income generating project
We Currently also have a chicken
business that is doing very well. In
future we plan to be self-sufficient and
not dependent on sponsors.
Women Premier League
OGSY team has been conspicuously
missing in the Women Premier League.
It is unfortunate that my team did
not take part in the 2016 Women
Premier League, this was prompted
by the lack of funds allocated to
specifically cater for the league
expenditure. As we all know most
clubs are facing financial constraints
and had a hard time honoring last
seasons fixtures. Initially when
UNICEF were sponsoring, it was easy
for me to balance running of the
projects and playing actively in the
league because there was financial
freedom. But now I had to take a
break and complete most of the
projects that were somewhat stagnant
because we rely on well-wishers and
no permanent sponsor. The team will
be back soon, we are training but
currently just talking part in friendly
matches and tournaments. He said in
a serious tone
 GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL GOVERNOR'S CUP

Governors Cup:
Making the strides in
fighting social ills

O
The Governor's By Dan Ngulu MDanOdinga
Cup kicked off in
December 2016 n Saturday 10 December 2016 football stakeholders in
with the main Nairobi, mostly from the grassroots level converged at City
agenda of uniting Hall to witness the launch of not just a tournament, but a
youths in Nairobi to program that sought to bring a different perspective in the
fight social ills fight against drug abuse as well as fostering responsible
drinking.
An initiative of the Nairobi County Liquor Licensing Board, the idea got
the backing of the County Government with the target being to keep the
youth occupied with what they love doing most playing football but at

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 47

GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL
the same time getting educated and
enlightened on the dangers of social
ills like drug and alcohol abuse.
And what better way was there
to do it than with the assurance of
money in the pocket at the end of it
all as well as the possibility of being
selected in the best players team
to be entered into future national
leagues as well as being sponsored to
further hone your skill.
Visible gains
It was coined to be the perfect
distraction from the ills, not just
for the players but the youth in
general and with about 17000 youths
targeted, the Nairobi County Minister
for Sports Anne Lokidor admits the
gains are already visible.
Apart from engaging the youth
through football, we have a message
that we are driving to them that
they rethink their drinking and the
Governor of Nairobi, Dr Evans Kidero,
has made it public that he wants
a Nairobi that is free of alcohol
and drug abuse and so far we have
managed to pass this message to
players, fans officials and all youth
who would care to listen.
While they enjoy a game of
football, fans would be engaged by
officers from the liquor board and
this involves sensitization, giving
then information and promotional
materials so far as we progress to the
Sub County level with the tournament,
indications show it is a success
because the young people and the
communities around have received it
well and showed willingness to adopt
good ways, she says.
Unlike most tournaments in the city,
48SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
GOVERNOR'S CUP
"Apart from engaging
them through
football, we have
programmes aimed
at changing the
behaviour of the
youth in Nairobi."
ANNE LOKIDOR,
County Sports Minister
which last for not more than a few
weeks, Governors Cup runs for a good
seven months, a span which Lokidor
feels is sufficient for the delivery of
the message as well as gauging the
gains.
Key facilitators in this initiative are
former footballers; the likes of George
Sunguti and Dan Musuku, who help in
scouting for the best players across
the tournament. Feting these players
falls under the tournaments awarding
scheme and Lokidor is convinced that
will spur players to want to give their
best.
We have the former footballers
who are helping us run the
tournament as well as scouting for
players so after the tournament we
have scholarship programs, we have
sponsorships lined up and from the
players who will be selected in our all
star team, we will go all the way to
help them hone their skills, she adds.
Girl child not left behind
A key segment of the football loving
population that is not forgotten in
this initiative, is the girl child. Girls
are considered among the most
vulnerable when it comes to drug and
alcohol abuse to ensure they benefit
from this initiative, girls teams will
join the tournament at the county
level.
For the girls, the tournament comes
at an opportune moment, when the
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) is
investing a lot in ladies teams. Lokidor
says aligning the tournament to the
federations targets with girls is a
crucial step.
If we do not sensitize the female
footballers, it is highly unlikely that
we will reach out to the ladies as
a population. We would be leaving
out a crucial group that is equally
suffering from such ills and once we
involve them, we are sure to also get
their fans. This also fits in with the
federations plans with ladies football.
From this tournament, we will form
two teams; for the boys and girls and
the federation, being our technical
partner, will definitely want to come
in and help us with developing these
youngsters, she reveals.
Going forward, Lokidor says, apart
from just having the players in a
team fully sponsored by the county
government, those eligible for
employment will be given the chance,
as way of driving the message that
leading responsible lives and merging
the same with football, can actually
end in a big change in fortunes.
KPL NEWBIES

50SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

 www.soka.co.ke

2017 KPL
NEWBIES AT A
GLANCE

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 51

KPL NEWBIES
A
Four new teams By Patrick Korir Mtipkorir
will feature in the
KPL 2017 season. new look 18-team
Experienced Kenyan Premier League
Football Journalist (KPL) kick off with four
Patrick Korir new faces in its ranks;
dissects their Kariobangi Sharks,
journey to the top Zoo Kericho FC, Vihiga
United and Nakumatt FC.
The four were part of the six clubs,
other than returnees Nzoia United
and KCB FC that were promoted at the
end of the second tier National Super
League (NSL) in 2016, and in the off
season due to other circumstances.
Sharks ended the NSL placed second
to automatically come through and
accompany leaders Nzoia United who
are making a return to top flight for
the first time since 2005.
Zoo FC and Nakumatt are in courtesy
of an expanded league, as the 2017
season bulge to 18 teams from the 16
that had been the case since 2007.
KCB and Vihiga United who ended
Zoo Kericho finally made it to the KPL after
seasons of working hard and being denied at the 2016 NSL season placed fifth and
the last hurdle sixth gained elevation to the top tier
52SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
after 2009 champions Sofapaka and
Muhoroni Youth failed to meet the
threshold of Club licensing even
after making an appeal, hence earning
demotion.
Who are these newcomers?
Kariobangi Sharks
The team was founded in the Nairobi
Suburb of Kariobangi in the year 1999
by, amongst others, Nick Mwendwa, the
current President of Football Kenya
Federation (FKF).
It started playing from the lowest
cadre of leagues in the sub branch but
by 2011 had risen to feature in the
second tier.
For five years the team failed to get
a spot in the top flight but on the sixth
year in 2016, it finally came when
team booked the second and final
automatic spot in the NSL after beating
already qualified Nzoia United 1-0 at
Sudi Stadium incidentally handing
the hosts their first home defeat,
during the 38th and final season game
on 10 December 2016.
Patillah Omoto, a faithful servant
of the team ever since he joined as a
youngster, delivered the killer goal a
long ranger, in the 16th minute.
Winning that tie was a must as any
dropped points would have seen Zoo
FC claim second spot as they, as largely
expected, hammered free falling FC
Talanta 5-0 at the Kericho Green
Stadium in a concurrently played game.
Sharks had a slow start in the season
losing three of their first nine games
to KCB, Nzoia and Zoo FC of Kericho.
But they got their grove on and after
the fall to Zoo on 27 April in Kericho,
they started their upward rise with two

straight away wins over Modern Coast
Rangers and Nakuru AllStars.
After the first 11 games Mike
Amenga took up a coaching instructor's
role at the federation forcing Sharks to
look around for able hands to continue
with the meteoric rise. In came
WilliamKanuMuluya who sacrificed a
team managers role at Mathare United
to try his hand in coaching a big club.
Muluya's entry was a bargain that
paid off. He never disappointed as,
from match day 12 to 38 he and Sharks
stayed unbeaten, ultimately making it
to the elite league. The team ended
the season with 83 points, nine behind
Nzoia whom they accompany to the top
flight, and two ahead of rivals Zoo FC
who finished third.
Zoo FC
Always the fancied side to gain
promotion in recent years, only to
miss out for a reason or another, Zoo
FC finally came through to the elite
league for the 2017 season.
But they had to endure months of
Nakumatt's
investment in the
game has paid off as
they will also feature
in the KPL this season
by Ken Ochieng who is one of the
uncertainty as, having missed out on an
automatic promotion spot for finishing
third with 82 points, one behind
Kariobangi Sharks, they had to keenly
follow a case at the Sports Disputes
Tribunal that would determine if the
top flight would be expanded from 16
to 18 teams.
That finally came leading to
celebratory scenes in Kericho as Zoo
became the first team to make it to
the top league since Brooke Bond that
was relegated at the end of the 1999
season.
Other than Brooke Bond, just one
other side - Chagaik FC featured in the
top flight back in 1966, then known
as Kenya National Football League
(KNFL).
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
www.soka.co.ke
The team was founded in 2009 and
worked its way up from the lower
leagues to the second tier in 2013. In
2014 and 2015 they were contenders
for promotion to the KPL only to be
denied on calculated technicalities
The team was coached to promotion
founding team members. A vast
majority of its players work at Finlays
Horticulture in Kericho, and feature for
the estate team. It is however spruced
up with worthy school-leavers such as
Nicholas Kipkirui who has since been
capped for the Kenya U20 team.
Mike Madoya who ended the 2016
NSL season as the top scorer with 20
goals is one of the star attractions at
the side.
Nakumatt FC
Nakumatt is owned and sponsored
by Nakumatt Holdings Limited, a giant
chain store in East and Central Africa.
Backed by one of the best player
base in the country, the team was an
outright candidate for promotion in the
53
KPL NEWBIES

ended 2016 NSL season but a rough

patch saw them fall down the pecking
order to end up fourth with 77 points.
An expanded league however
favored the side coached by Italian
Giovanni Traoni with Fred Ambani as
his assistant.
To compete in their debut season, the
club announced the capture of David
Gateri from Bandari and Kepha Aswani
who was dropped from AFC Leopards
in the latter stages of the 2016season
as well as his former team mates
Eugene Ambulwa and Cresten
Mwanzo.
Keeper Sammy Okinda from Gor
Mahia as well as former Tusker, Bandari
and Coastal Union stalwart Crispine
Odula also came on board.
Ronald Musana from KCCA of
Uganda, Obadiah Ndege from Mathare Vihiga are a surprise inclusion in this season's KPL.
United, Eric Ochieng from Sofapaka,
Kelvin Omondi from Muhoroni Youth
and Boniface Akenga from Kariobangi had not, for a second time, met criteria it up with draws against a star-studded
Sharks add to the shoppers potency for of club licensing to stay in the top Nakumatt and another experienced
the season. league. outfit Nakuru AllStars. They had made
At the same time, the club roped And so came the chance of a lifetime a statement. Though inexperience
in three key players on loan deals; to step on up, alongside KCB who had saw them fall to eventually end up
AFC Leopards'Jack Bruno and Liberty been relegated from the KPL at the sixth, their acumen was is no doubt
Sports Academy's Clinton Kisiavuki end of the 2015 season. as along the way the team provided
on six month loan deals and Robert Vihiga United was formed in 2014 the National teams with at least two
Omunuk from Tusker on a year - long and is sponsored fully by the Vihiga trialists; Amos Kigadi and Michael
loan spell. County Government and benefit in full Misigo Isabwa who has since joined
Bernard Meki, Kennedy Ouma, from their sponsorship. Its formation Sharks. The two finished the season
Christopher Wekesa and Timonah was aimed at nurturing talent at with 12 and 14 goals, respectively.
Wanyonyi who were instrumental to the grassroots predominantly in the Though in the offseason the team
their promotion all renewed their boundaries of Vihiga. beefed up for another shot at the KPL,
contracts to still be part of the setup. The team, coached by former AFC before the promotion came, the team
Leopards and Chemelil Sugar tactician will now have to depend on former
Vihiga United Edward Manoah, quickly rose through international Martin Imbalambala who
They were surprised by their the ranks in their short span of was handed a soft landing after a poor
promotion, just as anyone else, for existence to the second tier in 2016. season at Homeboyz as well as striker
theirs came at an announcement Their NSL season started on a high Rashid Kyambadde from Ugandan
that Sofapaka and Muhoroni Youth with a 2-0 win over KCB and followed second tier side Water FC.

54SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

 INTERVIEW www.soka.co.ke
ESSE AKIDA

ESSE
AKIDA:
HARAMBEE
STARLETS
FORWARD
UNLEASHED
She opens up about
her football career and
school life

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 55

INTERVIEW ESSE AKIDA
A
By Terry Ouko MTerry_Ouko
career milestone
is when you are
part of a team
that makes its
debut appearance
in the Africa
Women Cup of Nations (AWCON),
and then you just do not register
your presence but leave a mark.
When you have played for a
long time with minimal support,
defying all odds with that one
big push the moment you were
offered a platform to show what
you got; even being a heavy
underdog in a match pitting
heavy weights Ghana cannot dim
your shine.
Kilifis finest female footballer,
Akida is blessed with great speed
and quick decision making that
when presented with the chance
at Africas premier competition,
she proved her mettle with the
predatory skills that delivered
56SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
Kenyas first ever goal at AWCON.
That, she says, will always be her
best memory though it comes
with regrets, Starlets having
eventually lost the game.'
It will be the most memorable
moment for me. Scoring the goal
showed me that I can achieve
anything if I believe. It was
however not the best of games
since we lost because in football,
its all about the team and not
personal glory. Akida said
But where did all these
start?
Esse Akida started her career
at Moving the Goalposts (MTG)
at the tender age of eight. MTG
is an NGO that promotes girls
football as well as empower
women to take up leadership
Esse Akida roles for instance coaching and
started her soccer management.
career
at Moving the While playing for MTG Akida
Goalposts (MTG)
bagged several awards due to
at the tender
age of eight. her exceptional skills and goal
scoring prowess. In 2002 she
was the top goal scorer and
the best player in the Mathare
Youth Sports Association (MYSA)
tournament in the under 12
category.
Development phase in football
is a tricky stage especially when
it comes to consistency, this
however was not the case for
the sensational winger who once
again proved she was the Coastal
Region's finest when she won the
Most Valuable Players award in
the under 17 Uwezo wa Kipekee
tournament in 2007. Besides
winning the accolade, Akida was
selected to attend a football
clinic in Netherlands in the same
year.
The then captain of the MTG
womens team that was taking
part in the Coast region UNICEF
League, would play in whatever
position, especially in the tough
duels despite her small frame.
She was the heart and soul of
the team. Her good performances
did not go unnoticed as she
earned her first call up to the
Senior Women National team
at the age of 15 but Kenya
would pull out of the African
Championship qualifier against
Sudan at the last minute.
The MTG prodigy joined St.
Johns Kaloleni in 2008 where
she was on a partial soccer
scholarship program. There she
continued playing football but
the school only managed to
reach the regional level in her
four year study period, a not so
shabby level but she says she
was not satisfied with that as
she yearned to have reached
the national level. In 2010 when
telecommunications company,
Safaricom organized the Sakata
Ball tournament, Akida was
then playing for Joseph Oyoos
side Coastal Queens, which
reached the national level that
was staged at the Nairobi City
Stadium. Akida impressed the
scouts and was subsequently
selected to join the National
Youth Talent Academy (NYTA)
which was a UNICEF/Ministry
of Youth and Sports initiative.
However, there was one
 www.soka.co.ke

drawback, she was still a student

and as a result she had to wait
longer to join NYTA.
Despite failing to join
NYTA, she continued with her
impressive run for MTG and was
selected to attend the All African
Gamesstaged in Algiers, Algeria
as the best Young Athlete in the
organizations program in the
same year.
A year later coach Robert
Okallo who had spotted her
playing for MTG recalled her to
join NYTA with the consent of
her parent organization MTG
after she had completed her
secondary education in 2011.
NYTA had a Centre of Excellence
in Matuu High School and
was registered to take part in
the UNICEF sponsored Women
Premier League where Akida
emerged first runners up in the
top goal scorers chart with 37 with the organization that aided Akida kept good Ogonyo who has watched Akidas
relations
goals; Old is Golds Millicent her football career growth. After with the progress at club level described
organization that
Mwanzi topped the charts with the NYTA program came to a her as a player with a bright
aided
38 goals in that season. close, the forward went back her football career future, because of the special
growth
Just as Nairobi is renowned to MTG in 2013 where she got talent she possesses.
for hosting the MYSA Girls financial support to join Kenya It is always an honor to
tournament, the coastal region Methodist University to study have a player like Esse donning
is known for organizing the Business Administration. At the Spedag jersey. There is
Jamhuri Cup tournament that KEMU she got a platform to play something special about her that
hosts women teams from football though in the lower tier has always made me believe
around the country as well as league for KEMU Queens in the that in whatever match she
invited teams from East Africa. 2014-2015 season. plays, she will score or assist
In this tournament Akida has In 2016 KEMU was disbanded and to that effect she has not
bagged the top scorers gong and she joined Spedag FC and disappointed. She is a great
twice; in 2011 and 2012 playing went on to finish as joint top player and I believe her future is
for Spedag FC and MOYAS scorer in the Women Premier bright. With more dedication she
respectively. League, Zone A alongside Thika has all it takes to put her name
One should never bite the Queens' Mary Kinuthia at 15 in everyones lips and rule the
hands that once fed them, and goals. women football circles with her
clearly Akida kept good relations Spedag Team Manager Sarah prowess. Ogonyo remarked

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 57

INTERVIEW ESSE AKIDA
National team career
Akida made her national team
Harambee Starlets debut in
2012 in a friendly match against
Ethiopia in Addis Ababa where
Kenya lost 0 - 5. She was also
part of the team that drew 2 - 2
with Rwanda in the All African
Games qualifier where Kenyan
crashed out on the away goals
rule in 2013, before playing in
a friendly match against Egypt
which Starlets lost 1-0 at the
Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos.
The speedy winger would
"Her determination and
hunger for goals defines her
nd thats what you look for in
an attacker. Ouma
then get another National team
assignment in 2015 against
Botswana in the Olympic
qualifiers where Kenya won
2-1 on aggregate before South
Africa bundled them out in
the second hurdle on a 2-0
aggregate. Nevertheless Akida
was instrumental in the Africa
Women Cup of Nations (AWCON)
qualifier against Algeria, where
Kenya won on the away goal rule
after registering a 3 - 3 aggregate
score line in the two-legged
fixture to book a slot in the
continental showpiece held in
Limbe, Cameroon.
The 24 year old impressed
in the successive build up
matches that acted as part the
preparation for AWCON, starting
58SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
from the 4-0 win against Uganda
at the Kisumu Stadium where
she continued with her scoring
form bagging one goal . The
football Kenya Federation (FKF)
then took Harambee Starlets
headed to Spain for further
preparations, with participation
at the COTIF tournament where
they finished fourth with two
wins. Still, Esse bagged an
individual award after emerging
top scorer with five goals.
Harambee Stars head coach
David Ouma who has always
believed in Akidas capability
described her as the face of the
team, and a skillful player with
an eye for goal.
Every team has a player who
represents the team just like
Messi represents Barcelona,
Akida has a huge impact in the
Harambee Starlets squad not
just because of her goal scoring
prowess but also because when
she enters the football pitch she
gives her all. Her determination
and hunger for goals defines her
and thats what you look for in an
attacker. Ouma says.
In the CECAFA tournament
in Uganda; Harambee
Starlets were tournament
favorites especially after their
sweet revenge against Ethiopia
at the semifinal stage with a
3-2 win, they however failed to
live to the hype as Tanzania
defied all odds to beat Kenya
2-1 in the final but Akidas goal
scoring form was evident when
she bagged five goals in the
tournament being the second
top goal scorer behind Ugandas
Woman Footballer of the year
winner Hassifa Nasuna who
netted six.
At AWCON Akida entered
the books of history when she
scored a stunner in the opener
against Ghana, becoming the
first Kenyan woman footballer to
score in the competition. Akidas
prowess came out clearly at the
AWCON tournament where she
had a good show that attracted
interest from scouts, with offers
to play professional soccer in
Ghana, Nigeria among other
countries.
Life after football
Akida however knows that
after all is said and done; she
has to secure her future by
completing her education. Being
in her fourth year at KEMU, Akida
plans to resume her studies,
which she had put on hold to
prepare for AWCON.
Despite the fact that I would
love to play professional football,
my main aim is to complete my
education. I am aware that I will
not play football all my life, so
just to have a backup plan I am
determined to complete
my education in the coming
year.
Akida has 27 caps for
Harambee Starlets and will
probably be playing professional
soccer in the coming year after
a stellar performance in 2016
where she was the top goal
scorer both at the National team
and at her club Spedag FC.
 BLAST www.soka.co.ke
FROM THE PAST

Blast from
the past:
Kenyas
Golden era

I
By Patrick Korir Mtipkorir

n 1953, Kenya beat rivals

Uganda 6-2 in Zanzibar to
reclaim the Gossage Cup for
the first time since the year
1946.
The following year, Uganda
slammed Kenya 4-1 in a replayed final
at the African National Stadium (now
City Stadium) to wrest the trophy back
from Kenya.

Unbeaten
Uganda hung on to the trophy
for the next three years by beating
Tanganyika to it in 1955 and leaving
Kenya as second best in 1956 and
1957.
But things changed in 1958 as
Kenya, led by a young roving winger
Joe Kadenge, went unbeaten in three
games to end Ugandas four year
dominance on the prestigious Cup
and Kenya went on to hold on to it for
another three years and even added a
fifth trophy to establish a golden era.
A brace from Kadenge and another
from Ambrose Nyapada sent Kenya
to a 3-1 win over Zanzibar at the

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 59

BLAST FROM THE PAST

African National Stadium (City Stadium),

their only consolation coming from
NicholasAkwitende on the 34th minute.

Whitewash
Next came Tanganyika who received
a 4 0 beating. Elijah Lidonde scored
a brace with Kadenge and Nyapada
netting the other two.
The real business was then to come
Uganda in the final game. Cheered on
by a massive crowd, Kenya tore Uganda
to pieces, winning the tie 2-0. Kadenge
scored in the first half and Nyapada
added the second in the next half to
hand Kenya the trophy.
Kenya was to retain the trophy the
next year as they started off with a 0-0
draw with Uganda at the Illala Stadium
in Dar. That was followed up with a 5-1
whitewash of Zanzibar. A young Ali Kajo
who sat out all three Gossage games
in 1958 made a dream debut in this
game as he scored a record four times.
Kadenge added the other.
In the next game Kenya beat hosts
Tanganyika 2-0 thanks to goals from Ali
Kajo and Munialo Opicho, to retain the
trophy in Kenyas cabinet for a second
straight year.

Levi Khayadi
1960 was a little different Kenya,
coached by former Sports Officer
William Yeda did not lose the trophy
but shared it out with Uganda when the
competition was held at the Nakivubo
Stadium.
Kenya started out by slamming
Zanzibar 4-1 with first half goals from
Kajo and Levi Khayadi. Elijah Lidondes
brace in the second half completed the
rout.
Kenya topped that up with a 5-0

60SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017


smacking of Tanganyika in the
second game. The unstoppable
Lidonde scored a hat trick as
Kajo added a brace.
Same goal average
In the third and final game
officiated by Tanganyikas
A. Rodrigues, in which three
persons were reported dead and
another 30 seriously injured
due to riots during and after
the game, Kenya forced hosts
Uganda to a 1-1 draw.
Dependable Gilbert Seruwagi
scored for Uganda in the first
half but Kenyas man of the
tournament Lidonde leveled
matters in the second half.
Tied on points, the organizers
looked at the goal average for
each side Kenya had scored
ten goals and conceded twice
as Uganda had scored five and
conceded once. For that, both
sides were considered to have
had the same goal average and
for the first and only time in
the Gossage Cup, the trophy was
shared.
Buried a poor Zanzibar
Kenyas fine stretch never
ended there as they won the
same trophy and even added
another, the Uhuru Cup before
the close of the 1961.
For the first time ever, the
Gossage Cup was held in
Mombasa at the Municipal
Stadium in 1961.
Kenya, coached by Ray
Batchelor started off with a 0-0
draw against Tanganyika on the
first day of October.
In the next game, in which Job
Onyango made his debut, Kenya
buried a poor Zanzibar 10-0
to send a strong message to
Uganda - the next in line.
Things changed
Joe Kadenge helped himself
to a hat trick as Job Onyango
and Jimmy Linden each scored
a brace. Oronge scored once
- same to Bandi and Stephen
Baraza. The win stands as
Kenyas biggest ever at the
senior level to date.
Then came the decider; Kenya
Vs Uganda in a winner takes-all
final. Backed by an over capacity
crowd, estimated at 22,000,
Kenya took an eighth minute
lead through defender George
Situma.
But David Otti leveled matters
in the second half pushing the
game to what seemed a draw.
However, in the 78th minute, two
minutes to time (the game was
80 minutes long) things changed
in Kenyas favor.
Till that point, a 1-1 draw
would have seen Tanganyika
declared Gossage Cup
Champions for the first time
since 1951.
Clobbered
However, Bandi scored to give
Kenya a 2-1 lead and win and
a hold of the Gossage Cup for
the fourth year running. The
game was however marred by an
invasion of the pitch by ecstatic
fans 15 minutes to time as the
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
www.soka.co.ke
local security was overwhelmed
by the massive crowds.
In December of the same year,
Kenya went to Tanzania for an
Independence Day tournament
the Uhuru Cup. Till that year,
the hosts always won their own
competition but this was to be a
different year as Kenya changed
that order.
Kenya started on a high, as for
yet another year, they clobbered
Zanzibar, this time 4-0. Kadenge
opened the scores to pave way
for Norman Curtis hat trick.
Caledonia
That was followed up by a 4-1
sound beating of Uganda in the
next game. Jabir Rizikis brace
topped up on Normans opener.
Kadenge crowned it with the
fourth goal as Uganda licked
their wounds with a Hassan
Fauza consolation.
Kenya then shamed the hosts
Tanganyika silencing them 3-1
in front of a massive crowd at
the National Stadium in Dar.
Kadenge opened the scores in
the first half but Yusuf Mwamba
leveled matters with a penalty in
the 55th minute. Curtis, of local
side Caledonia, sent Kenya 2-1
three minutes later and added
a last one at the death, his
sixth goal at the tournament, to
guarantee Kenya its fifth trophy
in four years.
Indeed 1958 1961, of which
Peter Oronge was the Captain all
through, was Kenyas Golden era.
The next trophy Kenya won after
this period was in 1966.
61
INTERVIEW NAME

62SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

 INTERVIEW
LIFE AFTER
FOOTBALL:
HAROLD NDEGE
Harold Ndege:
H
By Jeff Kinyanjui MNyash88
Former Kenyan
International e was so good in
making strides in football that former
the corporate world Harambee Stars Head
Coach Jacob Ghost
Mulee signed him at
Tusker FC while he
was still in High School. He still loves the
game so much that he is contemplating
quitting a lucrative job in the NGO world
to join the murky world of football as a
manager.
36 year old Harold Ndege, born and
raised in Kariobangi South Nairobi, is one
of the few Kenyan footballers who are
living a decent life even after hanging his
boots early on; a decision he says he will
never regret. Ndege, who currently works
as County Director of a Non-Governmental
Organisation in Kisumu
I have played for only one club in my
entire life and that is Tusker FC, then
known as Kenya Breweries FC. I joined
the team while still studying at Nairobi
School and they shaped me to what I
am today. I am very passionate about the
club and my dream is to one day rejoin
at a managerial level, Ndege tells me as
we settle down at the Kenya Academy of
Sports Offices at Kasarani, where he is
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE
HAROLD NDEGE
currently working as a sports consultant
for National Super League (NSL) side FC
Talanta.
Ndege, born on 12th June 1980, started
formal education at the Nairobi River
Primary School in Buru Buru and later
joined Nairobi School for his O-Level
where he spent just three years (1995
-1998) before leaving to finish up at
Chianda High School in 1999.
My teenage life was very rough and I
experimented with a lot of things. I was
getting comfortable at Nairobi School
and it was affecting my performance in
education. My parents are still up to date
very strict with education and when they
realized this, they shipped me out to
Chianda High School. I thank them for this
because if that did not happen I would
not be who I am today, he says
Ndege joined Tusker in 1997 as a rookie
but officially signed a contract in 1999
after clearing High School.
My mother always believed in me and
knew I loved football. She pulled strings
without my knowledge and I was invited
for trials. I impressed the then Head Coach
Jacob Ghost Mulee but there was only
one problem - I was only 17 and therefore
could not sign a professional contract.
My dad always wanted me to pursue
63
INTERVIEW HAROLD NDEGE
education and not football but
through their Team Manager, the
late Shadrack Oyando, who was
his pal, convinced him to allow
me join the club. They offered
to let me train with them as an
apprentice until I turned 18 and
my greatest gratitude goes to the
coach,
I officially joined the club in
2000. Playing alongside great
players like Henry Motego,
Vincent Kwarula and Fred
Serenge while as an apprentice
are moments I will forever
cherish. Later I played with the
likes of Edward karanja, Victor
Onyango, George Waweru, Jeff
Oyando, George Maina, Robert
Mambo, Abubakar Yusuf, Daniel
64SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017
Agina, Franklin Obare- a squad
that terrorized opponents not
only locally but even in the
region. The same squad was one
minute away to qualifying to the
CAF champions league group
stage in 2001 he adds.
His football career blossomed
and just one year after joining
the club he was called up to
Kenya B National team where
he featured against Zambia and
Zimbabwe in the COMESA Cup,
the team losing both games; 0-4
and 0-3 respectively.
In 2001, Ghost Mulee led a
restructuring of the playing unit
at Tusker FC and the likes of the
late Albert Njeru, Kevin Malumbe
amongst others were released.
Ndege survived the chop but this
affected him mentally.
All the released players were
my close friends and my age
mates and I personally felt their
pain. This was a moment of
self-reflection for me and I asked
myself hard questions like; if
I get dropped in future which
other team will I play for, if I get
injured and unable to play what
happens to my life and Im not
trained on any other skill?
The following year Ndege quit
the team and boarded a plane to
India to join Karnatak University
for his undergraduate studies.
Ndege also My life was never going to be
occasionally
the same after what happened
analyses football
on TV to the team in 2002. We had won

the league in 1999 and 2000,
CECAFA title in 2000 & 2001 but
in 2002 we really struggled and
a restructuring was imminent.
As a first team regular I wasnt
on the chopping block but had
to deeply soul search and ask
myself difficult questions with
regards to my life after football,
My dad was always on my
case as he wanted me to go
back to school; I made up my
mind to do so. My cousin, Dr.
Zacheus Omondi, a doctor in
Ireland, & a former striker with
tusker FC (then Kenya breweries
& was part of the squad that
lost to DRCs Motema Pembe
in the confederations cup final
in Nairobi) was my inspiration
in joining the club and leaving
football for school. Having gone
to medical school and played
at the top level at the same
time, he prevailed over me to
go back to school and improve
my chances of a good life after
school. He was right.
Through my family networks, I
managed to get a scholarship at
Karnatak University in India and
KBL were very supportive, the
team itself actually contributed
Ksh 30,000 towards my
fundraiser,
Ndege graduated with a
Bachelor of Commerce Degree
- Finance Option in 2005 and
came back to Kenya but went
back to join the Institute of
Chartered Financial Analysts
University in 2011 for his MBA
specializing in finance . He
came after a year and worked
www.soka.co.ke
as a Financial Consultant before Japhery Oyando, Duncan Ochieng,
joining Old Mutual as a Financial Hillary Echesa, George Wise
Advisor in 2014. He later moved Owino, Charles Okwemba are
to his current job as the County perfect examples whom I played
Director of Safe Promotion Funds with or against then. What
in Kisumu. Besides that, he also happens to the majority?
works part-time as a Sports In Kenya, football is not yet
Consultant as well as Football fully professional and the players
Analyst with a weekly football should use it as a stepping stone
column with the Standard to something else and not as the
Groups Nairobian and occasional sole bread winner.
appearances on KTNs Zilizala Ndege gives credit to his
Viwanjani and Morning Express parents; Francis and Veronica
Sports. Ndege, Tusker Company &
He also served briefly as football club, Jacob Ghost
the CEO of Kenya Footballers Mulee, Anthony Origi, as well as
Welfare Association between He is so his former teammates as people
passionate
September 2013 and April 2014. about Tusker and who have played a huge role in
hopes to work at
Looking back at his football who he is today.
the club in the
career and his bold decision to near future At 36, he is not married
quit football while still relatively
young, Ndege says he has no
regrets.
I made the right decision
at the right time and have no
regrets whatsoever. My advice to
footballers is to be very careful
and ensure they have a plan B
after football. If you turn 23 and
havent yet gone professional
then you need to make those
tough decisions regarding your
life. Not everyone can go to
school and not every footballer
wishes to follow that path but
there are many opportunities
out here; you only need to be
brave and make that bold step.
The life cycle of the average
Kenyan football is six years, what
happens after that? he poses.
There are only a few exceptions
of players who have defied age
and continue playing to date -
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 65
INTERVIEW HAROLD NDEGE

however and is not in a rush to do so. Its not

yet time to settle down. I dont want to peg my
life against other peoples lives. Everybody has
a different life trajectory. I am not dating at the
moment and it is by choice. I will settle down at
the right time, he concludes.
Ndege is among the favorites to clinch the
recently advertised position of a CEO for NSL
side FC Talanta and this excites him.
I applied for the job and if successful then
I will quit the NGO world right away and join
Talanta. I love football and its my dream to work
at a managerial level and the club provides a
perfect springboard, he concludes.

66SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

 www.soka.co.ke

Ndege also
works as a
consultant for
NSL side FC
Talanta

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 67

 www.soka.co.ke

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 SOKA MAGAZINE 69

SOKA CROSSWORD AND PUZZLE
INTERVIEW

Soka Crossword 3 By Lenny Ruvaga

ruvagaLenny@hotmail.com Soka Crossword Down
1 2 3 4 5 6 Across 1. Former Secretary General of
3. Kenyan FC based in Naivasha KOgalo FC (6-5)
(8) 2. Former Ingwe and KOgalo
7 8
7. Chairman of Athletics Kenya FC coach (9)
from 1974-1984 (6) 3. Japanese art of self-defense
9 10 11 8. Won the African Cup Winners (6)
12 Cup in 1987 (3, 5) 4. Daniel Alves wore a no.
9. Real Madrid winger (6, 4) twenty_ Jersey in 2013-14 (3)
13
12. Wesley _ won the Boston 5. The Stadio Olimpico is in _,
14 15 16 17 Marathon in 2012 (5) Italy (4)
18 19 13. A starting point, safety area, or 6. Propelling oneself in water (8)
goal (4) 8. The governing body of assn.
20 21
15. Preparing physically as with a football in Ghana (3)
22 23 24
regimen (8) 10. League in Spanish (4)
25 18. Ohene Djan Stadium is in _, 11. Netherlands nat. team forward
26 27 Ghana (5) also called van persie (5)
20. President of Mogi Mirim 14. To admonish as to action or
Esporte Club in Brazil (7) manners (4)
28 29
22. Tusker FC forward also called 16. _ Madrid is a pro FC based in
Wetende(5) Spain (4)
24. A glove used in baseball (4) 17. _ Gandhi Arena is Indias
26. Tallest wrestler in WWE and largest in indoor sports (6)
WCW history (5, 8) 19. A__ catches pitched balls in
28. Fail to hit or strike (4) baseball (7)
29. Defensive midfielder for 21. Propels a ball with a stroke (4)
Borussia Dortmund (4, 6) 23. Jumps (5)
25. Grows old (4)
26. Gymnasium (3)
27. Bruce _ was a Chinese Ame
martial artist (3)

PF 3 : Sports Words By Lenny Ruvaga

ruvagalenny@hotmail.com

N O L E T A R A K G Sports Words Path Finder

G S H O U M P S H N

J P T R J T I P O I
The path finder grid below contains a selection of sports words,
starting with the highlighted A.
U M S G H C H T T K
The words form a continuous path, passing through each letter on the
P O T I H R E U P A grid once. The path always moves horizontally or vertically, and never
G G O E R G E K A Y diagonally.

O L L F R C A R Y C There are 15 words to find in total.

A L D R A H E R C L Archer, cycles, Culling, Hardball, Golfer, High jump, Shot put, Pitcher,
L A B A H G N L U E
Gear, Kayaking, Karate, long jump, Short stop, Goal, Hitter

H I T T E R I L C S

70SOKA MAGAZINE JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017

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