A look into players who have featured for both Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards
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Reading Time: 4min | Fri. 15.08.25. | 09:05
With the rivalry between the two clubs, the transfer of players between the two clubs has always caused online debate, love, and hate from opposing fans in equal measure
There are a few players who have turned out for both Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards, with the latest, which has caused online debate, being that of Harambee Stars defender Lewis Bandi, who ditched Ingwe for K'Ogalo.
FKF Premier League sides AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia are not only one of the oldest clubs in the country, having been founded in 1964 and 1968 respectively, but are also perennial rivals.
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Matches pitting the two clubs are the biggest fixtures in Kenyan football and are dubbed the Mashemeji Derby.
Mashemeji is a Swahili word for ‘in-law’ and refers to the high intermarriage between the Luhyas and the Luos, the dominant communities supporting Leopards and Gor Mahia, respectively.
With the rivalry between the two clubs, the transfer of players between the two clubs has always caused online debate, love, and hate from opposing fans in equal measure.
Mozzart Sport looks at some of the notable players who donned both the green and the blue and white striped jerseys.
Lewis Bandi
Harambee Stars defender Lewis Bandi made the switch from Leopards to Gor Mahia on Tuesday, 12 August, in a transfer that is still a hot discussion online.
Bandi is currently with the Kenyan team competing in the ongoing 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN) and was one of the stars in the historic 1-0 win over Morocco on Sunday, 10 August.
The 22-year-old was a standout performer for Ingwe in the 2024/25 season, which saw him named the club's player of the season and earn himself a national team call-up.
A product of the Leopards youth team, Bandi was the only Leopards player in the CHAN squad, and his transfer leaves the club with no players on the team.
Austin Odhiambo
Harambee Stars star Austin Odhiambo is another player who made a direct switch from Leopards to K'Ogalo in a transfer that had mixed reactions from fans of both sides.
Odhiambo was first scouted by the AFC Leopards Youth team under the stewardship of chairman Boniface Ambani, who was then coaching the team.
Odhiambo had a stellar performance in the 2016 Kenya Premier League (KPL) U-20 and thereafter earned promotion to the senior team.
The reigning FKF Premier League Most Valuable Player (MVP) would then shine for the senior team before he was lured by the Green side of Mashemeji in July 2020.
He is currently a joint top scorer in the ongoing 2024 CHAN with two goals to his name.
Demonde Selenga
The Congolese striker is one of the famous players to have crossed from Leopards to Kogalo.
Selenga was a fan favourite at Ingwe and can be remembered for helping the team retain its league status in 2010 with his lone goal, sinking Gor Mahia in the Mashemeji Derby.
His prowess attracted the attention of K'Ogalo, who signed him in the following season and scored in Gor Mahia's 3-1 victory over Leopards in the derby.
Selenga has since retired from football and is a grassroots coach and a businessman in Kericho.
Erick Masika
A darling and a towering figure at the heart of K'Ogalo defense, Erick Masika shot into the limelight in 2010 and helped Gor finish second in the league before crossing over to Leopards in one of the most controversial transfers.
Leopards reportedly paid Ksh450,000 to acquire Masika’s services, making him the most expensive player in the league at the time.
Unfortunately, Masika did not hit his K'Ogalo form at Ingwe and left unceremoniously in 2015.
Timonah Wanyonyi
Timonah Wanyonyi was one of the few players who, in their first season in the league and at Gor Mahia, made a name for themselves with top performances.
Wanyonyi joined Gor Mahia in mid-2013, and after a colourful season that culminated in K'Ogalo winning the league for the first time in 18 years.
Wanyonyi then ditched K'Ogalo for Leopards in June 2014, but was unfortunate not to replicate his previous form in his new club.
Wycliffe Kasaya
Former Harambee Stars goalkeeper Wycliffe Kasaya is another player who donned both the Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards Jerseys.
Kasaya was an understudy at Gor Mahia and left at the end of the 2012 season for Sony Sugar, where he shone before he was signed by Leopards in 2013.
Clifton Miheso
Former AFC Leopards captain Clifton Miheso had two stints at AFC Leopards and was part of the infamous Leopards squad that won the 2016 Mashemeji Derby.
He later played for both international and local clubs before joining Gor Mahia in August 2019, where he won the league title.
Other notable players who played for both sides include immediate former AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda, Peter Opiyo, Joachim Oluoch, Mathew Owino Ottamax, and Tom Juma, among others.
