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Nothing epitomises the adage a dog's life than working as coach of Kenya’s Harambee Stars.
Seemingly, it is never a happy ending.
You either work without pay, work without a contract or are kicked out of the job unceremoniously and without your dues.
Nigerian Christian Chukwu was hired by Kenya Football Federation in 1998 with high hopes but his tenure never lasted long and he was fired barely a year later.
He is better remembered for suing the federation for breach of contract.
Many others particularly local coaches are kicked out of the Harambee Stars job without pay and cannot seek legal redress because they did not have a signed contract.
The foreign coaches are more savvy and only start work with a binding contract. They have used this to seek justice when they are summarily dismissed.
Former Harambee Stars head coach Bobby Williamson on Friday expressed his joy after the Employment and Labour Court ordered the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) to pay him Sh55 million for unlawful termination of his contract.
The Scotsman was fired in 2016 after two years in charge and immediately took the matter to court. For three years the case has dragged but with ruling finally delivered in his favour, Williamson, who has been battling cancer since 2017, is happy that the matter has finally been concluded. “All I can say is that I respect Kenyan football and the judiciary system,’’ the soft-spoken Williamson said in Nairobi.
FKF President Nick Mwendwa is however adamant that they will appeal the ruling.
Another former Harambee Stars coach sought justice in the international judiciary system.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport last month ordered FKF to pay Adel Amrouche Sh108 million for a similar case of unlawful termination in 2015.
The federation has until the end of this month to pay or risk being ejected from 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
Mohammed Kheri, who has had several stints with Harambee Stars dating back to 1988, claims he is still owed millions of shillings by the federation.
His last stint was in 2005 but that too, as expected, did not end well as he was fired alongside his entire bench that included the late Sammy Nyongesa and Joe Kadenge. Until now he is still claiming Sh5 million he says the federation owes him.
“We took the case to Fifa but and were eventually requested to pay Sh2 million each for arbitration for the case to proceed — that is money we could not afford. Both Nyongesa and Joe Kadenge are no longer alive and it is sad that they died without getting what is rightfully theirs.”
