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Echoes of the 80s: Gor Mahia legend Goro Oronge on life beyond the game
Former Gor Mahia player Goro Oronge during with the Daily Nation in Kisumu on May 5, 2026.
What you need to know:
- Football had been a part of the Oronge family long before Goro Oronge turned professional.
- His father, Peter Oronge, captained Harambee Stars and later coached the national team.
Former Gor Mahia striker Goro Oronge now leads a life far removed from the noise and pressure of competitive football.
Oronge, who hails from Sakwa village in Siaya County, nowadays spends most of his mornings tending to his farm and attending to family matters, while also keeping up with football news involving Kisumu Hot Stars, a Division Two team where he serves as chief executive officer.
Oronge, who turns 66 by the end of May, says that this age has given him time to reflect on his footballing journey, which stretched from the grounds of estates in Kisumu to the biggest club matches in East Africa in the 1980s.
“I am a former player, a former public servant, a father and a farmer — that is who I am now,” he says.
For many Kenyan football fans, Oronge remains part of the generation that helped Gor Mahia dominate in the mid-1980s
He played at a time when Kenyan football attracted large crowds and fierce rivalries, earning regional respect despite players earning much less than in modern football.
Now retired, he says that life after football has not been easy, but he considers himself fortunate because he prepared for life beyond the game.
“Football has a duration. You can’t play forever. I think I made the most of it while I was young,” he says.
Football had been a part of the Oronge family long before Goro Oronge turned professional.
His father, Peter Oronge, captained Harambee Stars and later coached the national team.
Growing up in such an environment naturally drew him towards football.
“I was privileged to have a football on my doorstep from a very young age. Compared to other young boys, I already had an advantage,” he says.
Former Gor Mahia player Goro Oronge during with the Daily Nation in Kisumu on May 5, 2026.
He says that his father’s presence influenced, not only his love of football, but also his discipline and understanding of the game.
At the same time, he credits his elder brother, Abdul Oronge, for constantly encouraging him to take up football.
“He believed in me. Whenever I played, he would sit there, convinced that I was going to score and win,” he says.
Oronge started playing football at Xaverian Primary School as a teenager, before going on to captain the school team at Kisumu Technical. During his time there, Kisumu Technical reached the Inter-Technical Schools final against Kabete Technical.
He later formed a local youth team called Happy Youngsters and played informal matches around Kisumu. “There was nothing organised. But it was enjoyable football,” he recalls.
He turned professional in 1978, joining Kisumu Black Stars at the age of just 18. He quickly became one of the club’s most important players, scoring some of the goals that helped the team qualify for the national league.
One of his proudest memories was a match against Kisumu Police, in which he scored twice to secure the club’s victory and provincial championship title.
He then moved to Chemelil Sugar. Although Chemelil was not one of Kenya’s most glamorous clubs at the time, he says that those were some of the happiest years of his footballing career.
“I think that is where I played my best football,” he says.
At Chemelil, football also came with employment and financial stability. Players had company houses, electricity and water, benefits that many Kenyan footballers rarely enjoyed.
In December 1984, Oronge signed for Gor Mahia. His arrival coincided with one of the club’s strongest periods. Almost immediately, he travelled with the team to Khartoum, Sudan, for the CECAFA Club Championship. Playing as a number nine striker, Oronge helped Gor Mahia win the regional title.
He describes the tournament as one of the greatest moments of his career.
One match in particular remains memorable. During a clash against Libya’s Al Ahly Benghazi, Oronge found himself in an altercation with Malawian football legend Jack Chamangwana. “He used discriminatory language against me,” Oronge recalls.
Rather than respond verbally, he responded through football. “I beat him twice and scored two goals,” he says.
That same season, Gor Mahia won the Kenyan league title.
Another unforgettable moment came during a premier league clash against AFC Leopards.
Their goalkeeper, Abbas Magongo, attempted to intimidate him throughout the game.
But Oronge eventually scored the winning goal.
“I told myself, ‘Just wait. I know I will get you,’” he says.
Struggled financially
In 1986, Gor Mahia won the Moi Golden Cup, qualifying the club for the Mandela Cup campaign.
Despite the trophies and recognition, Oronge says that life in Nairobi became difficult.
Leaving Chemelil for Gor Mahia meant losing a secure job and a comfortable lifestyle.
“There was nothing tangible coming,” he says.
Unlike modern footballers, players during Oronge’s era survived on modest allowances. In Chemelil, he had a company house and basic support. In Nairobi, however, he struggled financially and lived with fellow players.
He later received help from David Ong’olo, a family friend from Sakwa, who accommodated him during difficult periods.
Eventually, after two seasons, he decided to leave Gor Mahia.
He briefly returned in 1988 to complete clearance formalities and play a few friendly matches. However, he suffered a knee injury in Homa Bay that still affects him to this day.
“If you see me walking with difficulty today, it’s because of that injury,” he says.
Unlike many former footballers, who drift away from the sport completely, Oronge found a new focus in table tennis.
After leaving football, he returned to table tennis. He went on to compete at a national level, becoming one of Kenya’s top-ranked players.
“I was ranked number five in Kenya,” he says.
He represented the national team and competed in major tournaments in Nairobi and Kisumu. He later returned to football, serving as player-coach at Kisumu All Stars between 1989 and 1992. During this period, he continued to develop his career in public service, eventually retiring from the Kisumu County government after working in performance management.
Today, his life centred around farming, pension income and football administration.
Oronge admits that retirement can be mentally challenging for footballers.
"For players accustomed to daily training, competition and public attention, adjusting to ordinary life can be challenging," he says.
“Leaving football is not easy. When you stop training but continue eating, you gain weight, which is unhealthy,” he says.
For this reason, he believes that former footballers should stay active by becoming coaches or administrators, or by playing in veterans’ football leagues.
He remains heavily involved at Kisumu Hot Stars even now, hoping to help young players progress to bigger clubs.
“To me, success is when my players move to higher levels,” he says.
Oronge strongly warns players against depending entirely on football. He says that education and career planning are essential because football careers are short and unpredictable.
Former Gor Mahia player Goro Oronge speaks to journalist during the cremation of Gor Mahia legend Allan Thigo at the Hindu Crematorium in Kisumu on May 13, 2026.
“You should not rely on football 100 per cent,” he says.
He cites the case of former Gor Mahia defender Haron Shakava, who now works in the police service, as an example of a player who prepared for retirement.
“That shows he made decisions beyond football,” says Oronge.
He believes that many retired footballers struggle financially because they never prepared for life after the game.
Oronge says that football standards in Kisumu, and Kenya at large, have declined due to poor discipline, ineffective coaching systems, and a lack of ambition among players.
He criticises players who skip training and teams that struggle to gather players, even on match days. According to him, some footballers are content to remain at lower levels instead of pursuing bigger opportunities.
“They do not want to move up. They want to stay where they are,” he says.
He also criticises the unstable coaching structures where coaches move with groups of loyal players from one club to another, which he says affects discipline and development.
He believes that the biggest problems facing Kenyan football are a lack of sponsorship and poor management structures.
He claims that the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) is currently offering little financial support to clubs.
“Clubs pay referees, organise fields and even provide ambulances. So, what exactly is FKF doing apart from preparing fixtures and appointments?” he says.
He believes FKF should include independent professionals and experienced football administrators in running the league.
Instead of arguing over whether leagues should be run by the FKF or private entities, Oronge says the focus should be on transparency and attracting sponsors.
He also warns that scandals and governance disputes are damaging the image of Kenyan football and discourage investors.
“No sponsor wants to be associated with scandals,” he says.
He says if Kenya wants success, it must invest seriously in youth football and academies. While he supports efforts to recruit foreign-born players of Kenyan origin into Harambee Stars, he insists that local talent development must remain the priority.
For him, the future lies in strong grassroots systems and proper coaching structures.
With Kenya preparing to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Uganda and Tanzania, Oronge says the country still has significant work to do.
He believes Kenya can build on the experience of hosting the 2024 African Nations Championship, but he also warns that the country must quickly improve its infrastructure, organisation, and league professionalism.
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