Only three days after being cleared of Sh38 million in corruption charges, Nick Mwendwa, the Football Kenya Federation president, has appointed former international Dennis ‘The Menace’ Oliech as the new head coach of the national football team, Harambee Stars.
Surprisingly, there has been no word on the fate of Coach Engin Firat, who arrived in the country three weeks ago after signing a three-year contract with FKF.
Firat led the team in their recent international friendly match against Iran in Tehran, which the Stars lost 2-1.
Oliech is highly regarded in Kenyan football circles, having been the national football outfit’s lead striker for over a decade, and is best remembered for guiding the Stars to the 2004 Arica Cup of Nations Finals, his cracker goal, late in the game against Cape Verde at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, in 2003, sparking wild celebrations at the time.
Oliech has kept a low profile since retiring from international football; he briefly played for Gor Mahia FC before leaving.
He will be unveiled at a press conference at the FKF headquarters on Tuesday.
The move to tap Oliech is likely to divide opinion.
On Saturday, Mwendwa was guarded on the choice of Oliech, simply saying: “Wait for the formal announcement”, which is expected to be on Tuesday at the FKF headquarters.
FKF has in the past paid a high price for arbitrarily releasing coaches and it remains unclear how it will turn out with Firat. Former coaches Adel Amrouche and Bobby Williamson were cumulatively paid over Ksh250 million for wrongful dismissal and it remains to be seen how the federation will handle Firat’s case.
