Gor Mahia star on the verge of joining Simba

Gor Mahia is on the verge of losing lead striker Meddie Kagere to Tanzanian stalwarts Simba ahead of the Cecafa Club Championships that begins this weekend in Dar es Salaam.

This is according to club Organising Secretary Judith Anyango who confirmed that the player is not part of the team that is currently in a residential training camp in Kisumu.

Anyango could however not confirm whether the striker has finalised his move to the Tanzanian champions, as he has not been in contact with the secretariat since his departure from the club.

“So when a player’s contract runs out and he goes to negotiate with other clubs, what can you do? They waited until his contract ran out and now we are hearing that he is signing a new one with Simba. He is not here with us. He is gone,” she said.

Kagere has been in terrific form since he re-joined K’Ogalo in June 2016, and he is currently joint top scorer at the club alongside Rwandan Jacques Tuyisenge. They have each scored eight goals in the league so far.

The 31-year-old has however been on Simba’s radar ever since he shone for the 16-time champions at the Cecafa Kagame Cup that was held in 2015 in Dar es Salaam.

Kagere, who was earlier reported to be on Yanga’s radar together with teammate Francis Kahata, scored against Simba in the recently concluded SportPesa Super Cup where he finished as the top scorer for the second consecutive time.

Reports from Tanzania indicate that the player is in Da es Salaam, although he indicated earlier this week that he is open to talks of a contract extension at Gor Mahia.

If the moves is successful, Kagere will be the third foreign player to be roped in by “Wekundu wa Msimbazi” after Ivorian Pascal Wawa and Nigerian forward Victor Patrick.

The 2011 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup top scorer joined Gor at the beginning of 2015, together with Rwandan defenders Abouba Sibomana and Karim Nizigiyimana who also played for Rayon Sports.

The 31-year-old became an instant hit at the club, and wound up the season with 13 league goals having played all 30 matches and clocking 2617 minutes for the club that year.

The widely travelled Kagere has played for more than eight clubs including Police FC, Rayon Sports, SC Kiyovu (Rwanda), Club Esperance (Tunisia) and FK Tirana of Albania.