From being one of Kenya’s finest goalkeepers, living the high life in Nairobi to crashing to rock bottom, Mathews ‘Ottamax’ Owino’s journey is a gripping tale of grace to grass and the aftermath.
It is no surprise, then, that the 50-year-old former Kenya international’s message to today’s footballers is crystal clear: “Stay disciplined in your careers, work hard, listen to advice from other people and make time for studies.”
On this Thursday afternoon, a white cap atop his head, the former Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards goalkeeper wears a face of hopelessness, yet his bold voice speaks of a man still standing strong.
Frustrations of joblessness
As the father of three, who played for Re-Union, Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards and Uganda’s Sports Club Villa, works to rebuild his life, he hopes his story will serve as a powerful lesson to others, especially upcoming footballers.
He is in fact working on book on his story tentatively titled: Beneath the Bright Light: The Untamed Life .
“I can say that currently I’m doing book two because the story is very long,” reveals Owino. “It covers my early life but most of it is about my football career and how I ended up in the messes that I’m in today. I want to pass on the wisdom and lessons I have learnt over the years to the next crop of players,” he says.
Former Harambee Stars goalkeeper Mathews 'Ottamax' Owino gestures during the interview with the Daily Nation in Nairobi on May 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
Pushed to the brink by the frustrations of joblessness, Owino who also served as Nakumatt FC, Gor and Leopards’ goalkeeper trainer, made a heartfelt appeal to Kenyans for support through his Facebook page on February 22 this year.
"Sometimes I feel like opening up, but I resort to crying it out when I'm alone! Things have not been looking up for the last 18 months or even longer!” read the post which he accompanied with mug-shot of himself, his face engulfed in hopelessness as tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Most of us here are suffering in silence while striving to look super in front of other brands and cameras, just hoping! I'm ready to be your office tea boy or errand boy...I'm looking for a job! Nimechoka kupigia watu simu za 999 (I’m tired of calling emergency numbers), I wasn't born lazy! Thank you, Davy Tnt, Kiarie Mbugua and Ex KPL Pros aka Samitsi Bandwagon, for standing with me,” the post read.
Separated from his family
In making that desperate move of turning to social media to reach out to Kenyans for help, the alumnus of Eastleigh Airport Primary School (Nairobi) and Kangaru High School (Embu) says many of the friends he had contacted -- including some who are well-off, failed to come through for him.
“I did that because I have a lot of fake friends,” says the pioneer player of Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) football team.
“I’m naturally a generous person but the moment I went down, no one came through for me. Even some of the people whom I considered to be my best friends and helped promote their initiatives and businesses avoided my calls.”
Mathew 'Ottamax' Owino during a training session when he was AFC Leopards goalkeepers trainer.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
With no job and separated from his family, the former Kenya international, who was nicknamed “Ottamax” by the late MYSA founder Bob Munro now lives in a modest hotel in Nairobi.
He has struck a gentleman’s agreement with the hotel’s management to meet his bills later – a stark contrast to the life he enjoyed at the peak of his football career and during the time he co-ran with his friend Allan Igambi, the Forty 40, a sports bar and restaurant in Westlands, Nairobi.
“I am working on having my own place because putting up in a hotel is hectic,” says Owino revealing that unemployment was the main factor leading to his separation from his wife back in 2018.
“We separated on mutual terms whereby I was out of employment. I was feeling challenged because I could not provide for the family. We started fighting a lot which was not good for the children. I was really affected and would drink heavily until I black out.”
Joblessness has not only strained his family life but seen him also lose his personal property twice last year due to rent arrears.
The first instance, he narrates, occurred when his household items were auctioned after he defaulted in several months of rent for a house that he had moved in in Ruaka Estate, from Runda.
Later, after relocating to a modest room in Westlands that charged Sh2, 000 per day, Owino again fell behind on rent and the landlord confiscated his suitcases with all his belongings.
He recalls an encounter with a woman at the hotel where Harambee Stars were staying ahead of their trip to Algiers to face Algeria in the 1998 World Cup qualifiers. After a brief conversation, Owino says they exchanged contacts but he never mentioned that he was a “superstar”, something that made the woman go “ballistic” upon the team’s return to Nairobi.
The lady was furious after learning about Owino’s celebrity status in news following his heroic performances in that match.
“The life that she kept me in was not good again for a footballer because she did not want me to play football,” he recalls.
“She was kind of well-off and just wanted me to be with her in the house. That is how I started growing horns. I was no longer going to training with Gor. We were just going out for drinks and dinner with her.”
However, she was not the woman he would marry.
Goalkeeper Matthews 'Ottamax' Owino during a training session with AFC Leopards at Ikulu grounds.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Alongside his growing defiance, Owino says his celebrity status inflated his ego. The effect of this? A fallout with then Harambee Stars coach Reinhard Fabisch who then dropped him from the national team in 1997.
“I think stardom crept into my head. I wouldn’t say it was a discipline issue but people never understood me. I was an extrovert, that bold outgoing player, who was not afraid to tell you no or yes. It never went well with some people and I was dropped from the national team,” he explains.
“People have different stories of what happened. The reality is that Fabisch was told that I had said I can’t play yet we had just had basketball shooting competition with him. So, he was wondering what had changed, then someone told him that I was loyal to the coach who had just left (Vojo Gadasevic). That it could be some sort of sabotage, so I was left out of the team.”
Painful chapter in his life
He reveals the rift between him and the German manager widened further after the statement he made during an interview in one of the local television networks that “he (Fabisch) is not a Kenyan while I am. He will not stay in Kenya forever. He will one day leave and I will be back in the team.”
Because of his ego, Owino says he never saw the need to apologise to the coach.
It took significant persuasion from friends and football federation official led by Peter Kenneth for him finally give in.
“Peter Kenneth was like a father to me, I just had to bow my head and go,” he says.
Goalkeeper Matthews 'Ottamax' Owino during a training session with AFC Leopards at Ikulu grounds.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Despite the apology, Owino never returned to the national team until in 1998 after the German had left. Looking back, he now concedes that Fabisch was right to stand his ground, even amid public calls for his reinstatement.
Though being sidelined from the national team was a painful chapter in his life, it was the closure of Forty 40 earlier this year that truly shattered him – marking the most devastating blow he has faced to date.
Quick rewind. After being dismissed as goalkeeper coach at Leopards in 2019, Owino found a new lease on life when his friend Igambi invited him to join Forty 40 as part of the management team .
The former goalkeeper says the business brought him financial stability far beyond what he earned during his playing days.
“The business was quite lucrative. I was getting good money which I never got while playing football. I found happiness there, moved from Eastlands to the leafy suburbs and enjoyed life,” he recalls.
However, things took a downturn when they decided to invest part of their profits into building their own premises. The decision was driven by the steep Sh1.5 million rent they were paying in Westlands.
Unfortunately, the shift strained their finances and marked the beginning of the end for the business.
Without a job, Owino gets by through handouts from well-wishers, menial jobs, and occasional opportunities -- such as mentoring young players or invitations from organizations like Kenya Footballers Welfare Associations. There are signs of better days ahead for the former goalkeeper as he is in the final stages of securing employment with a Spanish Academy that has a branch in Karen.
He also plans to launch a new initiative dubbed The Next Gifted Hands where he will be mentoring upcoming goalkeepers from humble backgrounds for free.
Former Harambee Stars goalkeeper Mathews 'Ottamax' Owino during the interview with the Daily Nation in Nairobi on May 23, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
“I want to do something of my own, something that will benefit the kids, something that will build character because I have been through the same, I know mistakes that I did. I know the advantages of being a good goalkeeper so I thought what if these kids are brought up the right way. That is what I still have in mind and it is the reason behind the next gifted hands.”
His advice to upcoming footballers: “Work hard. If you chose football, know it pays and make good use of the time available. We have many colleges. They (players) are being paid so at least there is something for them, even if it is not enough, it can take you to school.”
“They need to listen to laymen out there and listen to elders and people who have gone through some experiences. When we are playing football and people are out there shouting our names, saying how good we are, we tend to forget, we don’t even see them as people who can advice us. In my case I can say I am a bit lucky because I have been a go getter and I had it all.”
