Sébastien Migne strangled me like a cat — Journalist

Immediate former Harambee Stars head coach Sébastien Migné [Courtesy]

Immediate former Harambee Stars head coach Sébastien Migné assaulted a senior sports journalist in Cairo during the recent Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament, The Nairobian can reveal.

Stafford Ondego, a renowned photojournalist and Sportpicha director, says the Frenchman grabbed him by the neck in a fit of rage while he was taking photos of Harambee Stars players in Cairo.

“That day, I wanted to accompany the team to their morning training session, so I woke up at 5 am and left for the Harambee Stars’ hotel about an hour’s drive away. After getting cleared by hotel security, I managed to take a few photos of the players in their rooms,” Ondego recalls.

But the seasoned photographer felt the best way to capture Stars in a relaxed mood was at the breakfast table.  Little did he know that his pursuit for the perfect shot would land him in hot soup.

“I had just photographed Captain Victor Wanyama, who had his cup already filled with tea when coach Migne grabbed me by the neck and started choking me.  I could barely breathe. Then he chased me away like a dog as his players stared in disbelief. Alinishika kama paka akaninyonga bwana. Hata chai sikukunywa because the waiters saw me being harassed by the Kenyan coach and started wondering who I was. Hawangenipea chai. It was embarrassing,” the vividly disappointed man told The Nairobian.

A Star’s player who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the incident, saying one of his teammates tried to intervene but the coach was too rough.

Migne and his assistant coaches during training [Courtesy]

This previously unreported incident is among the sideshows that obtained in Egypt where Stars were walloped by Algeria and Senegal, demonstrating the deep channel Kenya must navigate to swim alongside the big boys of African soccer.

But Ondego claims Migne was not done with him and cites the luncheon hosted for the team by Sports CS Amina Mohammed as another source of agony.  

He says everything went well until the time for departure came. When Harambee Stars players got into their CAF-branded bus to their hotel rooms. Coach Migne was present.

“Hiyo siku tulijabamba tukikula in a boat on the waters and got entertained by beautiful women. But things changed when we got into the bus and I drew my camera to get to work. Coach Mignepushed and shoved me out of the bus in front of all players,” Ondego says.

But foul mood aside, it has emerged that Migné was operating a ‘small kiosk’ right beneath the noses Football Kenya (FKF) Federation top brass.

During the run-up to the tournament, The Nairobian has established, the Frenchman used an agency he works for to milk millions of shillings from the Federation, which is a conflict of interest. FKF was operating on Sh244 million budget paid for by the Government for games.

Migne’s conflict of interest could explain why the team camped in chilly France ahead of games that would be played in the heat of Cairo.

Ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals Migne’s agency One Goal Pro convinced FKF to contract them to manage Harambee Stars’ logistics in preparation for the continental showpiece.

It made the federation believe that camping in France was ideal for the national team, and made all the arrangements to see the team in the European country.   

One Goal Pro took care of the players’ travelling logistics, food, accommodation, training venues and facilities, additional trainers and all the friendly matches played by the Kenyan team ahead of Afcon-one against Madagascar in France and the second against Democratic Republic of Congo in Spain, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) acting CEO Barry Otieno has confirmed.

“Yes, former Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne is signed by One Goal Pro agency, and I can confirm that FKF used the agency to fast-track preparations for Afcon competition. The government, through the ministry of Sports, knew we had contracted the agency at a cost,” Barry told The Nairobian.

He added; “They arranged Harambee Stars’ camp in France, and organised for the friendly matches against Madagascar and DRC according to the will of the coach. All logistics including accommodation, food, payments for training facilities, flights to Spain for the DRC match and everything that made our preparations successful was done by the agency. They delivered their part, and we did ours. Every spending from the millions given to the federation by the government can be accounted for to the last coin.”

These details have emerged a few days after coach Migne parted ways with the federation. According to a statement sent out by FKF to newsrooms earlier this week, the two parties ended their relationship on mutual consent.