How AFC Leopards striker 'dummied' Gor on deadline day

What you need to know:

  • The former Ulinzi Stars striker who is a free agent, had agreed to join the 18-time Kenyan champions on Monday afternoon but made an about turn and signed for AFC Leopards
  • According to Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier, Makwatta, who has since apologised to the club, was handed a cheque for Sh1 million as signing fee
  • It is not the first case of a player abandoning a transfer deal midway through

Former Ulinzi Stars striker John Mark Makwatta’s botched transfer to Kenyan Premier League champions Gor Mahia has highlighted the risks local players expose themselves to when signing binding contracts with clubs.

The former Ulinzi Stars striker who is a free agent, had agreed to join the 18-time Kenyan champions on Monday afternoon but made an about turn and signed for AFC Leopards in the final hours of the transfer deadline day. Earlier in the day, he had picked a cheque for Sh1 million from Gor.

According to Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier, Makwatta, who has since apologised to the club, was handed a cheque for Sh1 million as signing fee but he then "disappeared minutes later and ended up signing for AFC Leopards."

“Makwatta arrived in my office on Monday4pm with his agent and told me he was ready to play for Gor Mahia. I talked to our team manager who prepared the necessary documentation to that effect and I signed my part,” said Rachier.

“Before we could proceed he (Makwatta) insisted he wanted his signing fee in cash and we agreed that I do him a banker’s cheque of Sh1 million since the banks were already closed. After receiving the cheque, he excused himself that he was going to the toilet and the next thing we heard is that he had joined AFC Leopards,” added Rachier.

Though Rachier insists that he holds no grudge against the player, he was disappointed by Makwatta's actions of sharing photos of the cheque bearing his signature which he termed as an act of betrayal that has tainted his image and that of the club.

“He has sent me an apology which I have accepted and told me the picture was shared by his brother-in-law. We have no problem with him joining AFC Leopards but the manner in which he did it was not professional,” asserted Rachier.

On his part, AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda revealed that Makwatta signed for the club at 10pm after considering offers from moneybags Wazito and Gor.

“He was here in the morning and then left hurriedly after he requested to listen to offers from Gor Mahia and Wazito. I waited for him and he only showed up past 8pm. We concluded his signing at around 10pm,” said Shikanda.

When reached for comment, Makwatta only said he is happy to be at AFC Leopards and refused to divulge on the Gor issue.

“I'm now a AFC Leopards player and I don’t want to comment on an issue that has passed,” said Makwatta.

Makwatta left Ulinzi Stars in June 2017 and joined Buildcon FC of Zambia where he played for one season. The club then loaned him out to Al-Nasr in the United Arab Emirates in 2018, where he played until end of June this year. He was later released by Buildcon June and has been a free agent since then.

It is not the first case of a player abandoning a transfer deal midway through. A number of local footballers playing in the Kenya Premier League have double signed for clubs in the local transfer window.

In January this year, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) was forced to intervene on a transfer circus involving Western Stima and Tusker FC concerning striker Kelvin Okoth Wayodi who had sought to join Western Stima.

In its findings, FKF observed that the player had a three-year-contract with Tusker FC which was running from January 2018 to December 30, 2020 and was only loaned out to Western Stima for a period that was to end on December 2018.

The issue arose after Tusker had objected the move by Western Stima to allow Okoth to play against them in a Kenya Premier League match, claiming that the player’s loan agreement signed by the two teams had expired.

AFC Leopards striker Vincent Oburu was also involved in a long-drawn tussle with Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards in January 2017, both teams claiming to have acquired his services.

Oburu, who still plays for AFC Leopards, was at the time a hot cake, having starred in the Kenyan Premier League Under-20 championship and the two local clubs, which are sworn rivals, were both interested in acquiring his services to boost their attacking departments.

In the end, he was signed up by AFC Leopards, although his form has so far dropped and he has fallen down the pecking order for the 13-time KPL champions.

In 2017, former KPL champions Sofapaka and Tusker also tussled over former Ulinzi Stars Striker Stephen Waruru who had double-signed for both clubs.

Waruru, who was at the time training with Sofapaka, claimed to have reached an agreement with Tusker and knowingly signed a deal with Sofapaka, a situation which put both clubs at loggerheads. The two clubs later resolved the matter and Waruru was allowed to play for Sofapaka.