Former Kisii Rugby Club Chairman, Walter Orangi, has strongly criticized politicians for their opportunistic behaviour of associating with Shabana FC after their promotion to the FKF Premier League.

Orangi’s comments come a day after Education Cabinet Secretary Education Ezekiel Machogu hosted the club in a luncheon on Thursday. The Luncheon was attended by South Migirango Member of Parliament Slyvanious Osoro among other leaders.

Shabana Luncheon

Reacting to the luncheon which came four days after Shabana secured their top-flight status, Orangi pointed out that Kisii politicians lack a genuine interest in sports and do not contribute to nurturing and developing the youth in the arts and sports field.

“Politicians from Kisii now hovering around Shabana FC because they made it to the top league, and don’t want to miss out on photo Ops etc,” he said in a statement.

“One consistent thing about Kisii politicians is, they don’t love sports, nor are they in the business of nurturing and building the arts and sports sphere within the youth.

“They don’t trust the process and most if not all are full of themselves, Lying their way out of supporting upcoming talent etc,” he added.

He specifically mentioned a former governor James Ogwae saying he failed to build sports infrastructure during his tenure but was seen celebrating with Shabana FC despite their struggles to find a proper playing turf.

“Best case scenario is one former Governor, who never built infrastructure around sports even though he had 10 years in office…

“But yesterday he was seen celebrating with Shabana. Remember when he was in office Shabana used to play home games in Awendo/Narok. Because there was no playing turf,” he noted.

Challenges of Sports in Kisii

Orangi highlighted the challenges of running sports in the region, stating that it is an expensive and often thankless endeavour. He mentioned an instance where Kisii Rugby Club, organized a successful tournament at Gusii Stadium but received minimal support from the county government.

Fans arrival

Timu ya mashabiki, wawekezaji mashabiki.

Furaha hapa Kenya inapatikana hapa ndani ya Shabana Fc. pic.twitter.com/MJCtNkIRrS

— Shabana Fc Kenya (@Shabanafckenya) June 23, 2023

“Running sports in Kisii is not only an expensive affair but a thankless one most of the time. You spend lots of your own personal money to make things work, with little or no support whatsoever from the county,” he revealed

Expressing frustration, Orangi questioned the lack of revenue-generating activities and support for the youth in Kisii County compared to other counties.

He emphasized the determination to plan future events without relying on politicians and instead engage with brands genuinely interested in supporting sports.

Orangi vowed to rally the sports community against these politicians in the next election, seeking leaders who genuinely care about the youth of the county.