Trouble at Ingwe den deepens
The already chaotic situation at AFC Leopards is fast approaching crisis level.
The administrative turmoil in the club took a new twist on Thursday when the caretaker committee formed by Nairobi County Speaker Alex Ole Magelo quit barely a month after assuming the responsibility of temporarily steering the club to financial stability.
Nairobi businessman Amin Walji, a former club treasurer who chaired the committee, said in a press statement that the decision to quit was informed by the “resistance and sabotage” on their duties by a parallel group that is managing the club.
“The resistance and sabotage from the remnants of the NEC members has made it impossible for us to fulfill our mandate of taking care of the welfare of the team,” Walji’s resignation letter read.
Other members of the committee were another ex-official Duncan Angode, TV comedian Charles “Papa Shirandula” Bukeko and former Kenya internationals Josephat Murila and George Sunguti.
As Walji and Company left the den, the assistant secretary, Asava Kadima, conceded the club may not be in a position to honour its GOtv Shield match against Ligi Ndogo next Tuesday, owing to a “lack of quorum” from the playing staff.
FINANCIALLY CRIPPLED
The team’s coach, Zdravko Logarusic, is also away in Croatia on holiday from where he has hinted that he may not be returning to the club.
“We have requested Football Kenya Federation to reschedule our fixtures because we need time to reorganise our team,” Kadima told Daily Nation Sport on Thursday evening.
This development comes in the wake of a demand by seven of Leopards’ first team players to be given release letters by the club’s administration.
The seven players are: leading scorer Jacob Keli, Bernard Mang’oli, Edward Seda, Emmanuel Ngama, Abdalla Juma, Joel Bataro and Wycliffe Kasaya.
They are all seeking to be released by the financially crippled club citing a breach of contract. The club owes all seven players salary arrears stretching back four months.
KPL CEO Jack Oguda confirmed receipt of letters from the players in question over the matter.
“The letters were filed on Wednesday, the players are complaining that the club has breached a great part of its contractual agreement.
“We shall treat the case with a degree of urgency since it is only two weeks to the end of the June transfer period,” Oguda said.