The Nairobian can now reveal the mysterious circumstances under which a prominent Congolese football manager was kicked out of Kenya.
Elly Kalekwa, the owner of Sofapaka Football Club, was deported three hours after he was caught in a hotel room with the wife of a very senior Jubilee politician.
The hotel they were busted in is based along Lang’ata Road. Although Kalekwa has denied the claims, impeccable sources intimated to The Nairobian that the flamboyant wheeler dealer was busted in a room where he was seated with the woman married to the very influential and powerful politician.
“Some people claim I was caught with the wife of a senior government official. It’s a big lie,” Kalekwa says.
Not so, insist our sources: “Kalekwa was seated on the bed and the woman was standing by the bathroom. It’s not clear if they had finished their business or were about to get started,” said a source privy to the drama. Kalekwa was roughed up by the bodyguards of the man who is so close to the heart of Kenya’s political power, as the woman he was with watched helplessly.
Despite the woman’s pleas that Kalekwa had come to give her some money for a harambee, the bodyguards continued beating up the Congolese then called their boss for further instructions.
“Mheshimiwa told them to deal ruthlessly with the man as he sought orders to have him deported,” said our source. That began a three-hour ordeal for Kalekwa at the hands of security personnel attached to the politician with access to the very tip of Kenya’s political echelon.
“The security agents had been tipped off about the regular meetings between Kalekwa and the big man’s wife. When Kalekwa arrived at the hotel that day, a staffer alerted the politician’s bodyguards who rushed in within 20 minutes. Using a master key from the reception, they opened the room where Kalekwa and the woman were liaising,” reveals our source.
He says the politician’s ‘men in black’ beat Kalekwa to within an inch of death, took away his golden bracelets, watch, pricey necklace and money in local currency and dollars before dragging him to the parking lot.
“He was driven to his house in Kileleshwa where the bodyguards inexplicably turned their wrath on Kalekwa’s wife. They then ransacked his house and took anything of value as they waited further instructions from the boss,” says our impeccable source.
When the senior politician called to say he had secured the deportation orders, the security agents divided Kalekwa’s four high-end vehicles among themselves and dropped the bloodied Congolese at the airport where he was immediately deported through Uganda.
Kalekwa’s deportation has hit the running of Sofapaka hard and the club could soon buckle and collapse. A spot-check at the club’s office within the CBD confirmed that the club had shut its offices. The offices, before Kalekwa was kicked out, were a beehive of activity as all the club operations were managed from the city centre.
A security guard at the premises revealed that the club could not pay rent and the building’s management decided to evict them.
“Nasikia walishindwa kulipa pesa ya nyumba, wakafungiwa, hata vitu zao bado ziko huko ndani, hawakubeba vitu (I heard that they couldn’t afford to pay rent and were evicted. Even the office equipment are still inside, they didn’t take anything),” said the guard.
But Kalekwa insists it is all lies, that he went to Kampala to pursue a business deal and will be back in Nairobi in a week’s time, and that all his cars are intact and parked in his Nairobi compound.
“I am friends with senior State officials and I often come to Nairobi to see them and my wife and children. Kenya is my second home. I will come back with four players for Sofapaka. I intend to give them more time so that the club can improve in the second leg of the Kenyan Premier League,” said Kalekwa.
Batoto ba Mungu, as Sofapaka is popularly known, have been besieged by financial woes ever since Kalekwa was deported.
Just two weeks ago, Sofapaka players were left stranded in Kisumu after losing to Gor Mahia in a top league match on May 26. The players were kicked out of the hotel they were booked in hours after losing to the Kenyan champions, Gor Mahia in a mid-week clash. A source privy to the happenings at the club has confirmed that the owner of the hotel used police officers to eject the players.
“Things are getting worse. Players are also demanding salaries accruing to five months and we are wondering what happens to money that is remitted by KPL to clubs. The players are now eating from small kiosks around town as they wait for help,” said our source.
