Promising Leopards duo go AWOL

The soothing serenity developing at twelve-time Kenyan champions AFC Leopards has been rocked by a puzzling absentia of two highly rated midfielders who went absent without leave just days before sporting activities resumed in the country.

Winger Jaffari Owiti and midfielder Marvin Nabwire are reportedly in Nigeria for trials. Initially it was thought that the two players were heading to Sweden only to emerge that they are well within the continent.

Such manouvres are however, not new to the club as sections of officials often trade players without knowledge of their colleagues just to line their pockets. A similar incident involving former skipper Duncan Otieno turned ugly when it emerged that a club official had engineered his surprise move shortly after he had rejoined Ingwe from Zambia.

It's not the first time Owiti is heading out for trials. In 2019 he was away for several months for trials with an unnamed club in Spain, he was however unsuccessful and returned to the country. 

"They never asked the office for permission. There were rumors that they in Sweden but it has now emerged that they are in Nigeria. This is definitely shocking because leaving a team like Leopards for trials in Nigeria does not make much sense," a reliable source from the den told Mozzart Sport.

Assistant coach Tom Juma didn't want to be drawn into the debate concerning the whereabouts of the pair.

"I am a coach and I only deal with the players that show up for training. The office will be better placed to explain where the two are," he said.

Speaking after the 1-0 win over Nzoia Sugar on Saturday, head coach Patrick Aussems said the missing players should face disciplinary action.

"I work with players available in training. I do not want to talk about players who are not with the team for whatever reason but definitely their absence shows that they are not professionals and they should face disciplinary action," Aussems said.

"Who goes for trials in Nigeria"? These were the words of three bewildered AFC Leopards fans at the Ruaraka Stadium as they unsuccessfully tried to access the facility to watch their match against Nzoia Sugar FC on Saturday afternoon.

This is after it emerged that two of Ingwe players who missed game against the Millers were actually in Nigeria for trials with an unnamed Premier League club.

AFC Leopards registered a hard-fought win over the Millers. Caleb Olilo scored the all-important goal in the 39th minute. The win moved them to second in the log with 32 points.