Sam Nyamweya believes it is high time for the current Football Kenya Federation (FKF) regime led by Nick Mwendwa to exit the scene after Harambee Stars suffered a humiliating 1-0 defeat against South Sudan at Kasarani Stadium on Tuesday.
During the friendly, former Gor Mahia striker Tito Okello scored what turned out to be the winner for the Bright Stars in the second minute of the game. The defeat came after Kenya had defeated Qatar 2-1 in another friendly three days ago while, South Sudan, who are in a four match losing streak, had lost 4-0 against Mali in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
According to Nyamweya, it was a shame for coach Engin Firat to name a squad without players from Kenyan giants Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards.
“Kenya’s defeat to South Sudan is a clear testimony of how low the country’s football has sunk since Mwendwa took charge of FKF,” said Nyamweya in a statement, adding: “The display by the Kenyan team showed no character, no desire or zeal to win the game despite going down with only two minutes played. Imagine playing at home for the entire 88th minute plus seven to eight minutes of added time without finding a goal is a clear indicator that we don’t have a national team.“
The statement continued: “Kenya’s problems can only be solved with a new administration coming in to take charge of the game. The office led by Mwendwa has clearly shown they have failed to deliver, and they don’t have the trust of Kenyans to be in charge. For example, I have been in this game for decades, and not even a single day did I see a national team without Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards players.”
Nyamweya further called on Sports CS Ababu Namwamba to crack the whip and send the entire FKF office packing while describing Firat as a tourist out to make money from the government.
“This was the first time in history that the coach, who is just a tourist in the country to mint money from the government, named a Harambee Stars squad without players from the two Kenyan giants,” explained Nyamweya, adding: “I never lost a game to South Sudan; it is a pity that any team now in the East African region can confidently beat Kenya. I want to urge the CS for Sports Ababu Namwamba to clean the mess that is Kenyan football; it is time to send Mwendwa and his regime packing.”