Did Gor lose for mistreating Geoffrey Walusimbi?

Gor Mahia Godfrey Walusimbi celebrates a goal against Thika United [Photo: Boniface Okendo]

Just when you think a Kenyan soccer club is on upward mobility, the gods of destruction conspire to destroy all the good work.

When Gor Mahia played Tunisia’s Esperance at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos, they looked stronger, before falling 1-0 on their return leg in Tunis last week.   

Geoffrey Walusimbi played at Machakos, but was paining, feeling wasted. The 28 year old Ugandan is not your ordinary member of the K’Ogalo’s first 11. He is a reliable utility player who can play well in any position since joining Gor in 2014 from SC Villa of Kampala. He joined alongside country mate Godfrey Baba Kizito who left for overseas after one season. Walusimbi stayed because he loved Gor Mahia.

 Although his favourite position is left back, different coaches have tried him in almost all positions except goalkeeping and each time, the player who also turns up for Uganda Cranes, proves his mettle. In Gor Mahia’s variegated history, only Martin Ouma Ogwanjo and Isaiah ‘Janabi’ Omondi could play in any position except goalkeeping. So having a player like Walusimbi is God sent. Unfortunately that is the player K’Ogalo officials picked for a big let-down.

 Even when things were not rosy for the club, Walusimbi could be often be seen along Lusaka Road walking towards the City Stadium. A past Gor Mahia TV documentary captured him with his family in his Nairobi West abode. In the interview, he says that he actually works hard for the family and is in Kenya to earn a living.  

During Gor Mahia’s second leg in Tunis, K’Ogalo officials ‘shortchanged’ Walusimbi of all the players. They all along assumed the discussion over a long standing debt arising from his signing fee would fade away. They were wrong. He went AWOL on departure day. And so did on-form Kevin ‘Ade’ Omondi. K’Ogalo would have a tight outing. Some fans lost hope. Betting has never been spot on. It came to pass.

Walusimbi’s decision to hold his services shows how reckless and short-sighted Kenyan soccer officials can be. They knew how long the debt has been outstanding but waited to discuss with the player a few hours before departure.

What Walusimbi did should be an eye-opener for the club. ‘Hakuna cha bure’! If he was a fringe player we can understand, but a key player being taken for granted by officials smacks of recklessness. In any case, the player also has debts emanating from the same money he was owed. I gather his agents were on his case, they wanted their portion from the signing fee.

And this money issue is not just about Walusimbi: All coaches attached to Gor Mahia and other community soccer clubs from Len Julians, Jack Johnson, Bobby Williamson, Frank Nuttal, Zdravko Logarusic, name it, have had to blackmail clubs to get their dues paid. Club officials care less about agreements and contracts. They breach them with impunity. To them those are just pieces of paper worth nothing.

It is understood the community clubs have no steady income after the sponsors pulled out. So what? Why sign agreements and contracts if you have no jack idea where the funds will come from? Why waste the precious time and strength of a young Walusimbi who relies on football to earn a living?

Unfortunately, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) which could have stepped in to help affected players is itself rudderless and is actually the biggest culprit when it comes to breaching contracts with both players and coaches.

Gor Mahia turns 50 this year, but it should not mislead fans that it has morphed into a professional outfit. It is not. It should not cross Kenyan borders signing talented players who later leave their families hungry in Nairobi to play in a hostile stadium in Tunis.

How can the issue of match bonuses, salaries, allowances, signing fees and others bedevil Gor Mahia since 1968?  When a crucial match is around the corner, either a player or a coach goes AWOL. How come officials never miss boarding passes? Ironically I have never heard officials complaining of delayed or missing traveling allowances. Please do not tell me they sacrifice their own money!  

By Stephen Rutto 26 mins ago
Athletics
Kenyan stars ready for World Cross showdown in Belgrade
Motorsport
Safari Rally 2024: Tanak urges Kenyan children to take up motorsports as a career
Rugby
SCHOOLS: From the classroom to the field, Kisumu Girls ready to lift national rugby trophy
Motorsport
Safari Rally 2024: Neuville clinches Kasarani stage as Hyundai makes intention known