CECAFA SENIOR CHALLENGE CUP: Kenya’s Head Coach Kimanzi Suspended for Two Matches

The head coach of Kenya’s Harambee Stars, Francis Kimanzi has been suspended for two matches at the on-going CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup in Kampala.

Nicholas Musonye, the Council of East and Central African Football Associations (CECAFA) communicated the suspension on Monday. Kimanzi led the Harambee Stars to a 1-0 win over arch-rivals Tanzania in a Group B match at the tournament on Sunday.

But after the match CECAFA officials in a meeting chaired Musonye decided to suspend Kimanzi for unsporting behavior that happened before the match against Tanzania. “Mr Kimanzi is suspended from the technical bench for two consecutive matches of this tournament and should not appear anywhere in the stadium while serving the punishment,” said the communication dated December 8th.

The assistant coach Zedekiah Otieno has also been warned for his unprofessional behavior together with the other members of Kenya’s technical bench. The organizing Committee of the CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup pointed out that the Kenyan technical bench led by Kimanzi protested the position of the match officials and chased away the 4th official Mohamad Guedi from the dressing room.

“The same technical team mobilized the players not to play the match by locking them inside the room over accusation that three Tanzanian players had no valid passports,” added the letter. The technical bench also broke the door lock during the protest that delayed the kick off of this match for over 10 minutes. “Through out this nasty show, your officials did not comply with Article 15(1) of the rules and regulations of this tournament,” added the letter.

The regional tournament that started last Saturday enters Day 3 today with Burundi facing Eritrea in the first match before Uganda Cranes take on Somalia in the second Group A match at the StarTimes Stadium, Lugogo.