Tom Juma: Cartels are killing AFC Leopards

Former AFC Leopards head coach Tom Juma has hit out at ‘cartels’ he blames for the team’s woeful run so far this season.

Juma was fired on Monday by Ingwe after a disastrous start to the 2023–24 season. Six matches in, the club remains winless and are second last in the log.

Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Gor Mahia in the derby sealed the former Kenya international’s fate, bringing an end to his tenure that lasted just over two months. He was handed the reigns in July following the departure of Patrick Aussems.

On Monday, Juma was shown the door alongside goalkeepers’ trainer Lawrence Webo. Tomas Trucha is set to succeed him as head coach, while veteran Haggai Azande will handle the keepers. Former Ingwe captain Bernard Mang’oli is set to join the club as the new team manager following the elevation of Albert Wesonga to the position of CEO.

Juma has for the first time broken his silence and lifted the lid on what he believes is crippling the club. He says having a recruitment committee could have played a part in bringing in players he believes did not suit his philosophy.

"This thing called cartels is a big disease eating up and killing this team. I will not expound much on it, but they are killing this team for sure. There is a committee that was formed to recruit players, something that I have never seen before,” he said in an interview with Citizen Digital.

“As a coach, you need to have a say in the type of players a team is signing because of your style of play and how you would want to fit certain players into your system. If that is not the case, then there is a big problem.".

He defended his woeful record of four draws and two losses, saying he needed time to get the best of the players brought on board.

"For sure, it has been a good experience, but unfortunately, things didn't go as we planned due to these challenges. You go to the training ground and train with the players, but a lot of new players—about 20 from different teams—needed time to gel.”

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