Mariga: I am getting married soon

     Victor Wanyama with Big timesafaris ceo Mr. Dennis mwangangi at maasai mara game reserve. photos by WILLIS AWANDU/STANDARD

Kenya’s international midfield sensation, MacDonald Mariga, who turns out for the Italian side Parma, has hinted that wedding bells could be in the offing.

Mariga, who has a daughter aged three years and five months spoke to The Nairobian enroute to the Maasai Mara with family and friends to witness the great wildebeest migration.

The dotting father, accompanied by his little girl, was in the company of brother Mugubi and fellow Europe-based footballer, Dennis Oluoch. Others in the entourage included their parents as well as Christopher, Thomas, Harry, Cynthia, Mercy and Patricia and other close relatives and friends.

Not now but soon

Though he wasn’t willing to divulge details of the his daughter’s mother, he assured The Nairobian that he would soon give a comprehensive interview on the matter, confirming that marriage wasn’t far off in the horizon.

“Not now, but soon. I can’t tell you exactly when at the moment, but it will be soon. It’s every family’s joy to see one of their own get married,” said the footballer when pressed for details.

As a talented athlete and celeb, the midfielder draws lots of interest from gossip writers and blogs regarding his love life, but says it’s not a problem because his father taught him how to handle groupies.

“I was brought up by a father who was also a footballer, and who went through the same experience. So, he taught me how to handle girls who throw themselves at people they consider ‘stars’,” he says. “Sometimes I also walk around with my sister and people mistake her for my girlfriend. It helps me keep the ladies away,” he said laughing.

Tough dad

Indeed, like tennis greats, Venus and Serena Williams, Mariga and Victor Mugubi, were brought by a very strict dad.

Right from the word go, they were raised to be stars by parents who nurtured their talents and encouraged them to strut their stuff at the highest level in their chosen sports. It is no fluke either that their young sister Mercy is said to be on her way to becoming a professional basketball player in the USA.

His father, Noah Wanyama, is a former AFC Leopards player and was a dependable left back for Harambee Stars, while the mother was an accomplished netball star in her days. Mariga’ dad reminisces on his golden days as a footballer: “I played football for 10 years with the national team, wachana na hawa wenye wanakua kwa reserve team kila mara hapa na bado wanasema wako kwa team.

I was an outstanding player and I have lived to appreciate football as a sport and a well-paying profession.”

Very disciplined

Describing himself as ‘a quiet and simple man without complications’, he says he is happy those traits have been replicated in his children, whom he describes as “very disciplined”. Mariga adds that their parents not only brought them up as brothers and sisters, but as friends as well. “Victor is my brother, but we are also very close friends,” explains the ex-Inter Milan player.

“To succeed, one must be disciplined and that is what I have made very clear to my children. I have never seen my sons drink alcohol and I thank God for that.

But that is not to say they don’t drink. None of them has brought a girl to the house either. They have just never misbehaved in my presence,” says Wanyama.

Football analyst Fred Arocho concurs, saying he has interacted with Mugubi and Mariga and they are “very disciplined.”

“I went out with them and found them to be very humble,” says Arocho.

“We love our land Kenya and we are going to be here for the next three days to bond as a family,” explained Christopher Osale, Mariga’s younger brother who is himself a budding soccer player.

“Touring places together is not a one-off thing, but what the family has been doing over the years. This is the way to build strong bonds in the family. My children are just ordinary kids. I am normally pleased to walk around with them,” said Wanyama who is very protective of his brood.

But the father is irked by social media rumours that Mariga and Mugubi lied about their ages in their passports and that they are older than they claim.

“When any of my sons are injured, that’s normal because every sportsman in the world gets injured. But for someone to make unsubstantiated claims, alleging that their injuries are due to their age is malicious and uncalled for,” fumes Wanyama.