Running from black magic

The Tanzanian league must have presented a rich opportunity for many Kenyan professional soccer players. Or they thought. There is little doubt that Tanzanian league is more lucrative compared to the Kenyan Premier League (KPL).              

Money is good

For instance, Donald Mosoti who recently signed for Azam FC takes home Sh180, 000,while he pocketed a paltry Sh60,000 while at Gor Mahia.

While the money is good, the last two years has witnessed a massive exodus of Kenyan players from Tanzanian league under unclear circumstances.

 Pascal Ochieng signed with Simba FC in 2013, while Humphrey Mieno and Jockins Atudo played for Azam.

All that glitters

Before long however, the three were back to their roots even before the end of the season.

The question is, what were the young talented lads running away from?

The answer, The Nairobian can now exclusively reveal, is juju – black magic.

When the 2010 KPL Player of the Year George Odhiambo ‘Blackberry’ returned from Randers FC in Denmark, he was offered a lucrative deal by Tanzanian Mainland Premier League club Azam FC. But in an interview with The Nairobian, the magnificent ball-dribbling ace says not all that glitters is gold.

 “I signed a one year deal with Azam but the blatant use of African magic was too much for me to handle.

I could train well but on the match day, at times I could experience strange physical complications like body pains and swollen feet,” says Odhiambo.

The former K’Ogalo talisman says that on many occasions he witnessed strange practices at the club, especially amongst some Tanzania players.

“They have the money but playing conditions are unbearable. It is almost impossible to play in the league because I wasn’t used to such things.

To their players, (Tanzanians) it is all normal and business as usual but hey, I’m a Christian,” he adds.

Sensational attacker

At the time of ‘Blackberry’s release, Azam FC team manager Patrick Kahemele wrote on the Gor Mahia website that the sensational attacker was shown the door after failing to honour his part of the deal.

“ We terminated his contract after he demonstrated a great deal of unprofessionalism.We brought him to Tanzania to play for us and work hard, but he didn’t. We had no option but to let him go. He also had problems with the previous coach. His attitude was an issue in training and he also complained a lot when benched. He did not corporate with the club,” Kahemele charged.

What type of cooperation was expected from the young Kenyan is not stated.

Former Kenyan international Willis Ochieng walked out of his three-year contract at Simba in what he says was unfavourable playing conditions.

Smoky dressing room

“Blackberry didn’t see anything. Yeye alikua team ndogo. Atuulize sisi tulikua Simba (he was playing for a small team. Let him ask those of us who were at Simba FC).

Formerly of Finish Premier Division side IFK Mariehamn, Willis explains an incident that shocked him to bits when he was with the Tanzanian champions in 2011.

“Tuliingia dressing room tukapata ni moshi kila pahali. Moshi ilipo pungua kukatokea watu wawili wamekalia jezi za game. I was shocked! (When we got to the dressing room, there was thick smoke and when the smoke reduced, we saw two people seated on our playing kits)

“In fact when I signed the contract, I was told that it was necessary that I go see Babu. So, during the season whenever I got injured, my colleagues kept laughing at me,” narrates the former harambee Stars goalkeeper who has since quit active football but works as a goalkeeping coach.

Urinating on pitch

But claims of rampant use of witchcraft in the Tanzanian league did not start today.

In 2003, the BBC carried a story about how the then interim committee of the Football Association of Tanzania (Fat) reprimanded the country’s top two teams, Simba and Yanga, for allegedly using witchcraft, stating that the arch rivals performed various juju rituals before and during a derby that ended in a 2-2 draw.

“These are our biggest clubs and their strong beliefs in witchcraft can set a bad example for upcoming teams,” Mwina Kaduguda, the secretary-general of Fat’s interim committee told BBC Sport.

According to Fat, the rituals included two Yanga players urinating on the pitch in an attempt to neutralise a substance placed on the field by Simba FC during half time.

Yanga captain Paul John Masanja also refused to shake hands with his Simba counterpart Seleman Matola saying that he was under instructions not to offer his hand.

Then came 2004 when Kenya beat Tanzania 3:0 during the preliminary round of the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. Mwina Kaduguda, Tanzania’s head of the delegation to Nairobi, said the federation failed to pay the team’s match allowances in order to bring a witchdoctor to Nairobi.

“Players were not paid their allowances before the game, which cost us the chance of reaching the group stage.

 I was in Kenya with the team, where I ordered my colleagues to go back home and get money to pay the players.

But instead of coming with

the money, they came with a witchdoctor,” Kaduguda told BBC Sport.

Will this claims stop the leg-drain of local talent from KPL to the highly lucrative Tanzania league? Only time will tell.