When this year’s Africa Nations Championship (Chan) - to be jointly hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania - kicks off on August 2, one individual who will be sorely missed in the VIP boxes at the Moi International Sports Centre and Nyayo National Stadium is former Kenya Football Federation (KFF) Secretary General Sammy Joel Obingo.
Together with the then KFF Chairman, the late former Kisumu Town West Member of Parliament and National Assembly Deputy Speaker Joab Henry Onyango Omino, Obingo had the ambitious vision of Kenya hosting Africa’s premier football competition, the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in 1996.
But KFF’s bid to host the prestigious competition fell through, largely due to lack of government support ignited by the tension of national politics between ruling party Kanu and the opposition Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (Ford), with South Africa picked as replacement as President Daniel arap Moi’s administration pulled the rug from under KFF’s feet.
The host nation’s “Bafana Bafana” then went on to win the 1996 Afcon title on home soil, defeating Tunisia 2-0 in the final at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium with a double from winger Mark Williams sparking off the rise of post-apartheid football in “Mzansi.”
Obingo died last Tuesday, aged 76, just 109 days to the kick-off of the Chan tournament that will see Kenya host a standalone continental football tournament for the first time ever.
The veteran football administrator fell off the motorcycle he was riding on and was pronounced dead at the nearby Mumias Level Four Hospital.
“The family today conducted a postmortem of our brother to establish the real cause of his death. The report indicated it was cardiac arrest that occured while he was on the motorcycle,” Obingo’s cousin, Abnery Aswani, said on Monday this week.
“The report indicated that he had excess cholesterol that blocked his veins leading to the heart failure,” Aswani added.
The fallen football administrator will be laid to rest at his home in Eshitukhumi Village, Mumias, tomorrow (Saturday 26th). Having lost his wife, Anne Anangwe, in 2020, Obingo leaves behind three sons and two daughters, namely Joel, Michael, Paul, Felister and Eve Obingo.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Sammy Joel Obingo, former Kenya Football Federation (KFF) Secretary General. As you mourn his passing, please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you.
May his soul rest in eternal peace,” Football Kenya Federation President Hussein Mohammed mourned the fallen administrator. Born on New Year’s Day in 1949, Obingo graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from the University of Nairobi in 1974, working briefly for Twiga Chemicals before joining Coates Brothers Limited.
He also held a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the United Kingdom.
Obingo’s football journey started in earnest in 1984 when he ran for the position of Secretary General in KFF’s Nairobi Branch, and won. But even before then, Obingo had taken the dive into football management by handling Nairobi provincial league sides Ingwe FC and Black Mamba as chairman.
Kenya Premier League secretary general Sammy Obingo addresses a press conference on Sunday. He said Francis Kimanzi would no longer be headcoach of Harambee Stars. Photo/DENNIS OKEYO
Elected Secretary General
In 1985, Obingo was elected KFF’s Nairobi Branch Chairman and a year later, in 1986, he was voted in as the federation’s National Secretary General, a position he held, despite turbulent times, until 1996 when his team lost to that of Peter Kenneth and Sam Nyamweya after which he shifted focus to serve as Secretary General of the regional Confederation of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) from 1996 to 1999.
“The 1996 election was chaotic as there were 14 delegates from KFF’s Coast branch who were barred from voting, due to new election laws, and they were our supporters. If they had been allowed to vote, we would have retained our seats,” Noordine Taib Koor, who served as Treasurer in Obingo’s KFF national administration recalled on Monday.
Nyamweya paid tribute to his predecessor, describing Obingo as “a gentleman.”
“He was a gentleman. In 1996 when, together with Peter Kenneth, we won the election, he handed over peacefully and did not complain. I always looked up to him for advice, and he gave me a lot of support,” Nyamweya noted.
With Kenyan football hit by wrangles necessitating the constitution of a Caretaker Committee in 2000, Obingo took a sabbatical from football management before returning for his final cameo.
In this undated file photo, Harambee Stars players Washington Muhanji (left) and Peter Dawo (right) show Kenya Football Federation Secretary General Sammy Obingo their bronze medals after finishing third in a regional tourney.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
During that sabbatical, he served as General Manager of the Kenya Cricket Association from 2004 to 2006 under the leadership of Jimmy Rayani and Sharad Ghai.
“It was around 2010-2011 that Obingo left football completely and relocated to Mumias to concentrate on his personal matters while also working with the Mumias Town Council.
"He was a totally different personality… he was not a combative person. He was quite diplomatic and not petty at all, having risen through the ranks in football administration,” Taib flashed back.
In 1987, under the Obingo and Omino administration, Kenya hosted the All Africa Games football competition that saw the Harambee Stars lose to Egypt’s “Pharaohs” 0-1 in a memorable final via a controversial extra-time goal by Mohamed Ramadan.
The country had never hosted a standalone continental football tournament, with the success of the All Africa Games favouring a Kenyan bid to host the 1996 Afcon.
“We travelled to Dakar, Senegal, where the then Caf (Confederation of African Football) President, Cameroon’s Issa Hayatou, wanted the 1996 Afcon hosting rights handed to his home country, but we convinced our Chairman (Omino) to make a bid,” Taib reminisced.
“We had initially wanted to bid for the 1998 tournament but Zambia showed interest, although they later dropped and Morocco were awarded hosting rights.
“It was myself, Omino, Obingo and James Tirop, then Commissioner of Sports, among those present in Dakar and it took Omino just 30 minutes to convince the Caf delegates to hand us the 1996 tournament. We won the vote 22-18 with many voting for us because of the success of the 1987 All Africa Games in Nairobi which were well-organised.”
And on November 3, 1993, Culture and Social Services Minister Hussein Maalim Mohammed launched a 13-man organizing committee for the 1996 Afcon chaired by KFF boss Omino with Obingo as secretary. The committee projected a budget of Sh42 million by the time of winning the bid, an amount Obingo disclosed would subsequently double due to rising economic challenges.
Gor Mahia captain Austin Oduor ‘Makamu’ (left) is handed the Moi Golden Cup by Sports Minister Henry Kosgey (right) as KFF secretary Sammy Obingo looks on at Nyayo Stadium in 1987. Gor beat arch-rivals AFC Leopards 2-0 in the final at the jam-packed stadium.
Photo credit: File | Naton
Kasarani, Nyayo National Stadium and the Mombasa Municipal Stadium were earmarked for upgrades as the tournament’s three venues.
Kanu-Ford political standoff
“But our push for the 1996 Afcon tournament was viewed as ‘treason’ in some quarters… we were grilled by State agencies and after a lot of back and forth, the upgrading of the Mombasa Municipal Stadium was not approved with the government claiming there were no funds available,” Taib recalls.
“But it was all politics between (ruling party) Kanu and (opposition) Ford… the government saw by supporting the tournament, Omino, who was in Ford, would be made to shine and that’s why they frustrated the preparations.”
Two weeks before his death, Obingo was keenly following the progress of preparations towards the Chan tournament in August and the 2027 Afcon contest that will also be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
“He wanted to know about the preparations and I fully briefed him that the Local Organising Committee had been formed. Sadly, he has gone before witnessing these tournaments,” Taib regretted.
Long-serving Cecafa Secretary General Nicholas Musonye, who was mentored by Obingo, paid tribute to the fallen administrator’s commitment to the sport.
“He committed all his life to football despite being a scientist, a biochemist, by training,” Musonye noted. “He was a gentleman who kept his word, a man you would trust to work with.”
Good football under Obingo
“It was during his time that we had some good football in this country – Kenya reached the final of the All Africa Games in 1987, Gor Mahia won the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup the same year, in 1986 AFC Leopards was dominant in African football, reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League, Tusker FC (then Kenya Breweries FC) reached the final of the Africa Cup Winners’ Cup in 1993 under his watch.
“All these successes were the results of good organization and being trustworthy with the little resources available, and with no sponsors,” added Musonye who also served under Obingo in the bidding team for the 1996 Afcon.
KPL secretary general Sammy Obingo (left). PHOTO/ FILE
“When the 1996 Afcon tournament was taken away from us, I felt the sadness in Obingo because we had worked so hard with the lean team which we had under chairman Omino. He was really downcast.”
Musonye, who is also the Chairman of Kenya’s Local Organising Committee for this year’s Chan tournament and the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, disclosed that he had planned to invite Obingo for the Chan tournament’s opening ceremony on August 2.
“I was planning to do that because he’s the man who made me come into football strongly. As a journalist, he made sure I travelled with him to many competitions in the late 80s and early 90s,” Musonye said.
“I had planned to invite him with about 10 other officials who were involved in the administration of football in the 80s and 90s for the opening ceremony, but it’s unfortunate this has happened.”
Obingo’s final journey will start today (Friday 25th) when his body is moved from the St Mary’s Mumias Hospital Mortuary for a mid-morning church service at Bomani ACK Mumias before being taken to his Eshitukhumi home in Mumias for overnight stay ahead of tomorrow’s burial.
The family is currently raising funds through M-Pesa number 0727946587 (Margaret Mukoma), aiming to offset the close to Sh800,000 in funeral expenses.
