WESTERN PROVINCE POLITICS STIFLE AFC SURVIVAL

WESTERN PROVINCE POLITICS STIFLE AFC SURVIVAL
BY DENNIS LUMITI-Sunday Times 10 January 2010
 
TODAY is matters football.
 
Before I go any further, I must confess that I am a fervent soccer supporter: I
sleep, eat and drink football!
 
But another confession! I am only loyal to two soccer teams in my life, AFC Leopards
and AFC Leopards!
 
I have been following the goings-on in this famous and most decorated football club
in our country and I have no otherwise but to pour my frustrations.
 
First, I am a worried man. After winding up the year 2009 on a high note following
Leopards return to continental football and its stay in the Premier League, I
started my 2010 in a vexed mood because of what has been happening in this club
lately.
 
Leopards is a club with rich history but which was killed some years back by a
clique of people who wanted to use it to further their selfish political ambitions.
 
It became the boiling point of Western province politics with any one eyeing
Parliament or Luhya leadership using the team to achieve their goals.
 
This led to alienation as would-be sponsors and other well-wishers including
corporate companies shied away. Crown Paints withdrew their support and we have had
none to date.
 
These culprits continued to milk this cow called "Leopards" but decided, or forgot,
to feed it on Napier grass. Before long, it was emaciated, with abattoir beckoning.
 
The team was then kicked out of the country's top league and for the first time
forced to contend with Division II.
 
Those who had wielded the machetes that hacked the "Ingwe" leaving it for dead took
off. They left the leopard to die. But it did not.
 
A group of young vibrant men came together and decided that it was not all over.
Being a team that enjoys support from even outside Luhyaland and Kenya, one
gentleman called Alex ole Magelo accepted to come in and spearhead the recovery
efforts; teaming up with gallant Luhya sons such as Richard Ekhalie.
 
I call them vibrant because at least we can see what they achieved: Leopards managed
to rise from the ashes, finished top in the nationwide league and was back in
top-flight soccer in a year!
 
Even with scanty resources, these guys started building a great marketable product
called "AFC Leopards "Ingwe"". People started renewing their interest and confidence
in the club. Before long, our stadiums started filling up whenever we were playing.
 
Those who had earlier attempted to kill the club were back again and they tried even
harder to have the team frustrated again.
 
Though these culprits' machinations slowed down Leopards' performance in the middle
of the league and even pushed it to the brink, the Magelo and Ekhalie team fought
hard and made changes that saw it stay in the top league.
 
The group not only ensured that Leopards remains firmly in the Premier League, but
also ended its title drought. We beat Congo United to clinch the Football Kenya
Limited (FKL) trophy that saw us qualify to represent the country in the
Confederations Cup that begins early next month. That is no mean feat.
 
But because vultures never tire easily, Leopards' enemies were recently back in a
new make-up. They used clandestine means to claim power; which saw the Magelo and
Ekhalie team destabilized again.
 
But because their goal, as always, was not to make things even better, they started
showing their true colours in less than 72 hours. They deserted the coach and
players and could not even afford to make a call just to update them on what was
happening.
 
They would not pay the players their allowances and booked them in a grubby
so-called hotel during a tour of Western province. They on the other hand lied to
their masters that the tour had been a success and thus, more cash in their pockets.
 
 
Looking at the line-up that claims to be Leopards' management team, one does not
require a seer to know that they are not just messengers of other people, but
messengers of doom. They are there for political expedience.
 
Julius Sikalo Ochiel who claims to be club Chairman is a perennial loser in Emuhaya
constituency; Robert Asembo, who tried his hand in Embakasi in 2007 but failed
miserably, says he is the Secretary-General. Another is Amin Walji Jnr. who has
always tried to dethrone Fred Fidelis Gumo in Westlands to no avail. He claims to be
the Treasurer. Then there is one Josephine Ojiambo, a political activist whose
record does not appeal, even as she may be highly educated.
 
Can we afford to have such a line-up full of activists and failures? No! Leopards is
for successful people. And is it a coincidence that all of them belong to KADDU?
 
If these people really want to make it politically by making Leopards better, they
should support the ole Magelo and Ekhalie team and remain in the background. But
their mission is questionable.
 
Leopards have to be throwing off their continental title campaign on February 13
when they play the resilient Banks of Ethiopia, but nothing is happening.
 
To the Magelo and Ekhalie team: Rise up again and say no to these schemes, prepare
our team for the continental tournament and, as before, you will emerge victorious.