Chema men’s volleyball team coach Jeremiah “Madeni” Mukopi is anticipating a remarkable season in the Kenya Volleyball Federation National League, following their promotion from Division Two.
The Juja-based side, founded in 2022 by Chema Steel and Hardware chairman Charles Mathenge, has gained prominence through their strong performances in several regional events.
The club recently participated in the NSSF KAVC International Volleyball Tournament in Kampala, Uganda, in September. They also competed in the 2025 Rwanda Genocide Memorial Tournament and the 26th Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Memorial International Tournament in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
Mukopi said they are ready to compete with the top teams, with the goal of qualifying for their first league playoffs. At the end of the regular season, the top eight teams qualify for the playoff stage, and the overall winner automatically qualifies for the African Clubs Championship. This stage is meant to increase competitiveness and align the league with modern standards.
“We hope to go all the way and win the national title. We will make more plans going forward after that,” Mukopi said.
Mukopi and his team will start their 2025/26 campaign on Friday at the Moi International Sports Centre Indoor Arena, where they will face the National Youth Service (NYS). They will then encounter the Administration Police of Kenya (APK) on Saturday and conclude the weekend with a match against the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) on Sunday.
Chema men’s volleyball team coach Jeremiah Mukopi during his team's training session at Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi, on November 4, 2025.
Photo credit: Pool
Mukopi, 46, a former GSU officer acknowledged the tough challenge ahead. However, his aim is to start the season with victories.
“We earned our promotion on merit, which is why we are ready to take on any opponents. I will be happy if we can achieve our objective of reaching the playoffs this season,” said Mukopi who hails from Natunyi village, Navakholo Constituency, Kakamega.
“It’s always good to start the season off right. If you falter at the beginning, you have to play catch up, and that’s not a good place for anyone to be.”
Mukopi, who has coached several clubs, universities, and secondary schools in the league, said strictness and discipline have been key to his career.
“Ask any player who has passed through my hands, and they will tell you the kind of coach I am. The script will be the same this season. I am a hands-on coach. I always demands results.”
“I’m strict. I adhere to the club’s core values. I’m a disciplinarian, but I’m also patient with players. I give them room to improve and grow. I believe these attributes have helped me nurture players.”
Mukopi is popularly known as “Madeni” in volleyball circles. This nickname comes from his Luhya name, Mukopi, which loosely translates to “debtor.”
Ahead of the three fixtures, the coach said they will take every match seriously as they seek to earn maximum points.
“The teams are tough but we’ll aim to win our matches and plan for the next leg,” said Mukopi.
“We have had a good build up ahead of the new season having participated in the international tournaments such as Mwalimu Nyerere Cup last month where we finished third. We have gelled well and we are ready to hit the road running,” said Mukopi, who has also coached Equity Bank, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Kenya Airways and Mautuma Mixed Secondary School , among other teams.
It was during his reign at the DCI that the sleuths beat former champions Kenya Prisons in the semis of the Kipchumba Karori International tournament in Eldoret last December for the first time. Chema finished top of the lower league with 40 points ahead of Eldowas, who had 39 points from the same number of matches. At the end of the season, the top two teams in the second tier earn promotion to the National League, while the bottom two teams in the top tier are relegated to the Division Two.
Mt Kenya Base Yetu and Department of Defence Camp Administration Unit (DOD CAU) will start new life in the second tier after finishing in the bottom two positions in the National League that ended in June.
Base Yetu finished second from bottom with three points from 16 teams while DOD finished last after failing to honor their matches.
DCI extended the good run to beat the reigning League champions Kenya Pipeline 3-1 (25-23,21-25,25-20,25-23) in the regular League in May.
One month later, DCI would then complete a double against Kenya Prisons during the semi-final of the National League play-offs at Makande hall in Mombasa with a 3-2(25-21,25-22,17-25,16-25 and 15-12) win to book Pipeline in the final.
Although DCI failed to clinch their maiden title losing to the Oilers 3-2(21-25,25-21,18-25,25-21 and 15-11), the sleuths were happy with their second-place finish thus qualifying for their first ever African Clubs Championship next year.
Recollecting on his previous years as a player Mukopi said he played both football and volleyball but leaned toward volleyball after former KCB players toured their School Kivaywa High School.
“We had veteran coach Barasa Mate who used to coach players and also the visits by former Kenya Pipeline and KCB volleyball players who brought uniforms and balls to the school made me love the sport. When I joined Kivaywa Secondary School I played volleyball and football very well although our schools didn’t go past Regional Games. I managed to sharpen the act of playing volleyball after I cleared school in 1996.
From School I went to stay with my uncle (Moses Makokha) in Mombasa and it’s there that I really improved since I was playing and practicing more alongside renowned coach Sammy Mulinge, National beach volleyball and Patriotic Army of Rwanda men’s team coach,” recollects Mukopi whose wife Lilian Shikanga is a teacher at Moi’s Bridge JSS and a former volleyball and net ball player as well as a national volleyball referee.
