Inside Shabana FC’s Sh2.2m dispute with coach Sammy Omollo

While the message may have seemed inconsequential at the time, it has since come back to haunt both Kerama and the club, costing Shabana FC more than Sh2.2 million in compensation.

This week, the Labour and Employment Court in Kisii found Shabana guilty of unlawfully terminating Omollo’s contract. 

The coach had saved the club from relegation. The court compensated Omollo and dismissed the club’s counter-claim. The club argued they had not dismissed him, but rather accused him of absconding from his duties.

“After preparing the team for an away match against Kariobangi Sharks, he was required to travel with the team. However, he was instructed via WhatsApp by the respondent’s secretary not to travel with the team, and was assured that he would resume his duties thereafter. The respondent then ceased all communication with the claimant and excluded him from the team’s activities. At the match against Kariobangi Sharks, the respondent had appointed another coach in his place. This position subsisted for over five months, which, in my considered view, amounted to the unfair termination of the claimant’s employment without notice, reasons, or a disciplinary process.” Justice Nzioki Wa Makau said in his judgment.

At the time of his dismissal, Omollo had signed a new, improved contract with the club following his performance in saving the club from relegation.

When Shabana appointed Omollo as head coach in June 2023 at a salary of Sh150,000 per month, the club was languishing in the bottom three of the league, having won only three of the 12 matches it had played before the coach’s appointment.

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The initial contract expired in July 2024, after which Shabana offered the coach a new deal starting on August 1, 2024. He would earn Sh160,000 per month, plus a Sh10,000 performance bonus.

However, Shabana claimed through Kerama’s testimony that it had never offered Pamzo a new contract as the previous one had not been terminated. Instead, the club accused the coach of absconding after he failed to accompany the team for their match against Kariobangi Sharks on October 26, 2024.

The club claimed that they only discovered, on February 9 last year that Omollo had joined another team, Posta Rangers, while still under contract with them.

Shabana argued that this move contravened FKF and Fifa rules governing the transfer of coaches.

The Shabana FC maintained that, as far as they were concerned, Omollo had breached the contract by abandoning his duties and then joining Posta Rangers without complying with the relevant regulations.

For his part, Omollo said he had not breached FKF or Fifa regulations, as he had repeatedly asked for his job back, but to no avail.

He said he was kept in the dark throughout. Even Shabana’s witness in the case admitted that the club controlled the Fifa Connect portal. This meant that Omollo could not update his details or coaching records, as only the club could do so.

Nevertheless, Shabana accused him of failing to issue the contractual termination notice and of ignoring invitations to attend a resolution meeting.

Shabana argued that Omollo’s absence had an adverse effect on the club’s operations and reputation, including its sponsorship arrangements. The club claimed that this saw it incur additional expenditure by reassigning coaching responsibilities.

Shabana maintained that Pamzo only tendered his resignation after moving to Posta Rangers FC. Omollo countered this claim by wondering why he had never been subjected to any disciplinary process. 

He argued that even the club’s witness in the case had admitted that there had been no show-cause letter, disciplinary hearing, termination notice or payments.

He was forced to resign as a last resort after being completely excluded from the team and being kept out of all the club’s official communication channels. The coach said the club stopped assigning him duties, withheld his salary, and appointed someone else in his place. 

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In that regard, his employment relationship with the club had become intolerable, leaving him with no option but to resign.

Omollo maintained that his resignation merely formalised an employment relationship that Shabana FC had already repudiated through its conduct.

Shabana also opposed the coach’s claim for compensation, arguing that he had suffered no loss of income as he had immediately secured a job with Posta Rangers FC.

However, none of Shabana’s defence witnesses were enough to convince the judge.

The claimant was successful in showing that he was dismissed without cause, and that this was a result of the respondent’s refusal to assign him coaching duties after the claimant alleged that there would be tension or a fracas if he were to accompany Shabana FC in their match against Kariobangi Sharks. 

“The claimant had no option but to look for alternative work. He could not wait month after month for a call-up from the respondent’s secretary, who showed little regard for due process. The respondent’s conduct proved there was a repudiatory breach, as non-payment of salary combined with repeated refusal to deploy a worker satisfies the repudiation of contract aspect. The respondent clearly intended not to be bound by the contract,” said Justice Nzoiki. 

The judge also criticised Shabana for endangering FKF by knowingly keeping Omollo’s name on the portal as its head coach even after he had joined Posta Rangers, rather than updating it. 

“The claimant appeared as a coach for a rival team a few months after being removed from the team. Was it improper for the claimant to appear for a rival team while still connected to the respondent via the portal? Yes. This was improper, as the club’s conduct could have resulted in FKF being blacklisted and Kenya being embarrassed. The respondent chose to wait and see if the claimant would be banned or ostracised for appearing for other teams while still officially connected to the respondent,” the court further said.

As the court awarded Omollo over Sh2.2 million for unfair dismissal, the judge praised the coach, saying: “The claimant was a good coach, as evidenced by Shabana FC’s success under his leadership. I cannot fathom why the respondent’s secretary decided to dismiss a successful coach who played for Kenya in its glory days.”

“The respondent treated a successful coach — arguably one of the most successful of the modern era at Shabana FC — poorly. He deserved more humane treatment. During his heyday, the respondent was rising through the leagues. He suffered reputational damage when he was unemployed for months and unable to respond to questions about why he was not coaching Shabana FC. For that reason, 12 months’ salary compensation would have been granted. However, the claimant sought 10 months’ salary, which, in my view, is sufficient recompense,” the judge added.

Ultimately, the judge awarded Omolo a total of Sh2,238,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal, unpaid housing allowance and salary arrears.

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