National men's hockey team player Festus Onyango is proof that you can be anything if you set your mind to it.
The forward is part of the team training for the 2024 Paris Olympic Qualifiers to be staged from October 29 to November 5 at the Randburg Hockey Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The striker, who plays for Kenya Hockey Union men’s Premier League champions Butali Sugar Warriors, is a practising lawyer at the Mwae and Associate Advocate in Nairobi.
Lawyer Festus Onyango.
Photo credit: Pool
Born in Kisumu in a family of four siblings, Festus says all he could see around him were hockey balls and sticks. His parents, George and Phelistus Onyango played football and netball respectively.
"When schools were not in session, my elder brother Dan who was a student at Maseno School and now plays for Super League side Parklands Sports Club would come home with a hockey stick and balls. He trained at the Kisumu Sikh Union where I accompanied him," recalls Onyango, 27.
"The interest grew and I thank the late coach Cliffe Okello and Butali team manager Kamal Sembi for taking a leap of faith and teaching me the basics. After clearing primary school at Victoria Primary School in Kisumu, I joined Maseno School and really wanted to master the sport.
National men's hockey team forward Festus Onyango (centre) at City Park Stadium during their training session for the Paris Olympics qualifiers on September 3, 2023.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
I liked the way my brother would walk around with his hockey stick. I thought it was cool and it was kind of a swag. I gave my all when I joined the school team in 2011.
“We did not perform well in my first year but the following three years, we competed in the National Games, but it was during the 2014 edition that we finished second and proceeded to the East Africa Games. Although we finished behind eventual winners Friends School Kamusinga, I was voted the Most Valuable Player," he added.
National men's hockey team forward Festus Onyango (left) at City Park Stadium during their training session for the Paris Olympics qualifiers on September 3, 2023.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
In 2015, Onyango received a call up to the national junior team for the African Hockey 5s Championship that was staged in Egypt and says it made all the difference.
"We won bronze, and I remember after coming back, coach Meshack Senge offered me a scholarship at Strathmore University. I wanted a profession that would help the community, less fortunate, voiceless and that is how I settled on Law."
In 2016, he led the university side to their second league title as they dethroned holders Butali and he finished the season with 20 goals, one behind top scorer Moses Cheplait of Kenya Police.
“My performances saw me called up to the national team and I made my debut at the World Cup qualifiers in Egypt in 2016 and since then I have been a regular player in the team,” says Onyango, who was named the MVP of the 2019 season.
National men's hockey team forward Festus Onyango (left) at City Park Stadium during their training session for the Paris Olympics qualifiers on September 3, 2023.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
He joined Butali at the end of the 2019 season, but was not able to play until 2022 when the league resumed after the Covid-19 break. He won the league title with sugar millers and was also the league’s top scorer.
The forward says he has been able to juggle hockey and law due to the discipline that was instilled at Maseno.
"There were two options at Maseno. You first perform well in class then you are allowed to play any sport, or perform poorly then you are barred from playing. So I really put in the work when I'm in the firm so that there are no disparities,” he added.
Festus Onyango of Strathmore University Gladiators (left) tries to evade a challenge from Brian Musasia of Butali during their Kenya Hockey Union men's Premier league match at City Park Stadium on December 2, 2017. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP
He says it is a privilege to work under Dorcas Mwae, whose firm is associated with top lawyer Danstone Omari.
“Dorcas has really pushed me to be a better player and a lawyer as well, and looking back now, I thank my brother Dan for carrying those hockey sticks at home,” says Onyango.
One of his highs was working with Omari during the Kiamanyeku brothers’ case, who were lynched on suspicion of being livestock thieves in Embu, and Shakahola mass deaths.
