Angry Reactions over midfielder Jamal’s ‘shisha’ party

By Rodgers Eshitemi

A front page splash of Harambee Stars midfielder, Jamal ‘Malo Malo’ Mohammed, appearing on The Standard’s yesterday’s edition, smoking ‘shisha’ three days before their 1-0 defeat to Nigeria has generated angry reactions.

A former Kenyan international, Albert Oketch, lamented poor management for the rise of indiscipline in the team.

The Al-Nasr midfielder was among the revelers who graced the Blanket & Wines event, on June 1 in Nairobi.

Despite sneaking out of camp and partying all night long, ‘Malo Malo’, as he is fondly referred to by his fans, played the entire match as Stars succumbed to a 1-0 loss in front of a mammoth crowd.

Oketch, who featured for Gor Mahia and Re-Union in the late 70s, voiced his concerns over Stars’ poor management and lashed out at Football Kenya Federation (FKF) for suspending team manager Gabriel Olang, Sammy Sholei (Vice Chairman) and Dan Shikanda (Nairobi Branch Chairman).

“Everybody saw the crowd at Kasarani on Wednesday. That shows Kenyans love their team, but what we saw in the paper is disgraceful and shows clearly the team is not managed well. Apparently, nobody is in control of the team,” said the Cecafa Technical Committee member.

“How can a player sneak out three days before such an important fixture without the consent of the managers? Something is wrong with the administration. Those in charge of the team at the moment have not played football.”

“They never explained to us why Olang was suspended as a team manager; same to Sholei and Shikanda. These are the people who should be in control of the team. It sounds crazy FKF assigned people who don’t have football ideas to manage team,” he said.

Oketch is adamant the management is a big let-down and that Mohammed should be absolved of blame for his misconduct.

“We cannot blame Jamal for this incident; the management should carry the cross. How can a player sneak out and be allowed to wear the national team colours? Definitely, the players know the weaknesses of the management and that’s why they easily walk out of the camp,” he said.