Did Kariobangi Sharks bite and dump injured player?

Kelvin Kanyago (right) is said to have been dumped by Kariobangi Sharks [Courtesy]

A young football player claims ‘he was dumped midway through his contract by Kariobangi Sharks’ following an injury he sustained in 2016 when the club was still featuring in the National Super League.

Winger Kelvin Kanyago, 18, says the Nick Mwendwa-owned club has failed to honour their contractual agreements and have not paid him for more than one year yet he is nursing a knee injury which requires surgery.

According to a copy of the contract he presented to The Nairobian, he was to stay as an employee of Kariobangi Sharks from June 2016 to the beginning of July 2019, earning Sh18,000 per month and enjoying a medical cover of up to Sh1 million.

However, when he sustained the knee injury in 2016, things changed. He says he was to undergo surgery and paid by the club until he recovers, after which he was to be released to look for job opportunities elsewhere. But he says the club not only failed to pay for the surgery but stopped paying his salary in December 2017.

Kanyago’s attempt to reach club officials bore no fruits and says that the last communication was via email when the club’s CEO Lynda Ambiyo instructed him to avail his NHIF card in a bid to sort out the issue in July 2018.

CEO Lynda says the player was released in 2016 but paid a whole year (2017) purely out of goodwill because he is a young player.

Copy of his contract [Courtesy]

“We don’t have a running contract with him. He was released in 2016 and we paid him for a year after that. But honestly, last year and this year have been tough for us financially. However we were actually talking to hospitals to see how to help him get treated, though we could not manage the amount needed for the surgery at that time,” she told The Nairobian.

She added: “I remember the last time I had a chat with him, I told him to check if his NHIF is up to date for us to try and get money for top-up.”

But when asked whether they have a copy of the contract, Lynda distanced herself from the issue asserting that nobody has the document at Kariobangi Sharks.

“I took over this club early last year and I think I heard of Kanyago’s case the day he came to the office in July (2018). I looked for his contract to no avail. I can’t trace his contract. Nobody knows where his contract is yet we have contracts for all our players up to 2010. Probably there was a lapse somewhere but you see we’ve done everything in good faith for the boy,” she said.

But Kanyago says he has not been released because there is no release letter to that effect.

“How can they release me without proof? They only told me that they were to release me once I’ve undergone surgery,” he said, adding that the CEO told me to send her “my NHIF card through email though I’ve never received any reply since then.”

But chairman Robert Maoga says that the player has not followed the right procedure in seeking payments or treatment.

He blames him for keeping quiet then surfacing via media instead of approaching the club in an appropriate manner.

“I have one issue with the boy. He doesn’t follow protocol. You know when you have a problem especially in football, there’s a procedure you need to follow with your club to get help. I agree that he was our player and was injured thereafter but I think this boy is after something else, because he disappeared and has only appeared on media with such stories,” he told The Nairobian.

He added: “We paid him for one year when he was not playing. He was not good enough for the team so we released him. For me, I think I’ve done the best for the boy.”