.9th Sunday February 2025
With only four months remaining before Dan Shikanda leaves office at the helm of the oldest club in Kenya, race to get his replacement is on.
Although the campaigns are yet to start officially names of possible replacements are being floated.
Olimpia Musonye the current chairman of U45 branch’s name is on the lips of several Ingwe members who are vouching for his candidature. Speaking on Mulembe FM, Mr Musonye gave a sneak preview of where he sees AFC leopards if sound management doctrine is put in place by members.
Although Musonye has remained tight lipped but his manuevers of late point to the fact that his hunger to lead AFC leopards has left footprints on all the projects and utterances of late.
But who is Olimpia Musonye?
“Iam a Kenyan born in Murhanda village of Shinyalu sub county.My passion for AFC leopards can be traced back to when I was a 9 year old watching this great club terrorise team across the region. When I came of age, it was an automatic choice to follow and support Ingwe-ours forever”
Musonye the current chairman of Afcs U45 branch believes AFC can be transformed to the levels of Mamelodi Sundown and Al Hill of Egypt.
“Ingwe has the potential to go shoulder to shoulder with it’s peers on the continent. With sound management, we can rival Al hilal, Mamelodi Sundowns just to name but a few of the soccer giants in Africa.
musonye
But to achieve this fete, Musonye is calling on members to be sober when electing Ingwe’s next management.
“Social media is a wash with scandals of mismanagement on the part of some of those who have shown interest in taking positions of leadership. I want to urge our members to be sober as we approach elections. Our poor choice of leaders will further dent our club and unless something is done on the ballot, this great club may go down the drains.
said Musonye
But why choose Musonye for the top seat?
Mr Musonye believes that he is the right guy for the hot seat. As chairman U45 branch, he has managed to lead the branch into achieving some milestones that had never been achieved by a branch before.
“As U45 branch, we have taken our support for the club beyond donning the jersies and attending matches. We successfully held Ingwe Gala where we awarded players and branches for their outstanding performances in the past season. Besides that we have involved ourselves as a branch in helping our youth team honor their matches. This is a gesture that we intentionally set out to redefine how our fans engage our team and we are happy other branches have taken cue. Ingwe Gala is now a calender event.”
musonye
What will you do differently if elected
Musonye believes that Ingwe leadership must exhibit high level of integrity. Those aspiring to lead AFC should shade of the old adage of eng’ombe ya senje ( shared cow where we are all entitled to it’s milk) and instead focus on bettering Ingwe.
“It baffles me to see teams like Shabana f.c that don’t have a superior fun base like we do register more in gate collections than Ingwe. Something is terribly wrong, we need to have a meeting with ourselves and put Ingwe above self”
Musonye a career civil servant in management position believes the managerial experience he has gathered over years of service will be key in helping Ingwe surmount their constant financial and management woes.
“I am not tainted in any way I don’t have any criminal,or corruption related record.This places me at a pivotal position and gives me the moral authority to put my NEC on line on matters financial misappropriation “
Mr Musonye.
On the current squabbles within the current NEC, Musonye calls it laughable and a pity that AFC is subjected to such absurdity.
“Our NEC has in many instances claimed not to see eye to eye portraying an element of poor working relationship but when it comes to signing cheques, they burry the hatchet and sign which in itself raises many questions than answers. I would wish we go the FKF way where any potential Chairman comes up with his lineup of Secretary and treasurer to avert such misunderstandings.
On player recruitment Musonye is proposing a better policy that will guide the clubs recruitment regime that will enable the club to only hire the best talents besides nurturing it’s own from the academy and the youths team.
Besides Mr Musonye, others who have shown interest in the forthcoming elections are Former club player and youths team coach Bonface Ambani, Mr Enos Motokaa, current club treasurer Oliver Napali and Former club CEO Ronald Namai.
The treasurers position has so far attracted the former Buruburu Branch chairman Newton Lime.
While the SG position has has attracted the former club deputy SG Asava Kadima, self declared opposition leader Martin Were and Robert Situma aka Omusawa who will be making his second bid after coming second in the last elections.
AFC leopards is set to hold it’s national elections in June this year thus bringing down the curtains to Dr Shikanda’s tenure at the den.
