This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
Former Harambee Stars coach Marshall Mulwa's life has taken a dramatic turn since returning to Kenya from Dubai five years ago.
On January 19, 2016, Mulwa, 75, was a respected figure in Kenyan football, but today he is struggling to make ends meet in a Sh3,000-a-month tin-shack in Kitengala, about 20km south of Nairobi.
Well-wishers have been feeding and housing Mulwa, who won three successive Cecafa Senior Challenge Cups with Harambee Stars from 1981 to 1983, a feat that placed the team head and shoulders above their eternal rivals Uganda and Tanzania.
Most of Kenya's football greats honed their skills under Mulwa, but now he is a pale shadow of his former self.
Kenya Football Coaches Association (Kefoca) Chairman Ricky Solomon has called upon the government to rescue Mulwa, saying they will form a committee to raise money to support him.
“We know many and former football coaches are languishing in poverty but we have to move with speed to support Mulwa especially this time of Covid-19 pandemic when movement is restricted,” said Solomon.
He added that Kefoca does not have the financial muscle to support its members and appealed to the government to set up a sports foundation to support retired sports personalities.
“We have been paying foreign millions of shillings unlike our own, who have excelled in different disciplines. Retired sports personalities who have brought fame to the country need a decent living,” Solomon said.
Former Harambee Stars player Elijah Onsika also supported Solomon's sentiments of the need for a sports foundation to cater for sports personalities who had sacrificed a lot to bring glory to the country during their heydays.
