A player in the Tusker FC camp has set out for legal action against the club. Midfield maestro, Faraj Ominde contends Tusker have denied him a chance to make his dream debut for the coastal side, Bandari FC and the only option left at his disposal is to take a legal recourse.
The brewers have been caught up in the thick of a botched transfer saga with Ominde alleging all his efforts to part ways with the club have run into a hitch after he was brazenly denied a release letter following a deal with rivals Bandari. Indeed so far the transfer has not been finalized amicably as Tusker chairman David Aduda, however said Ominde was unnecessarily blowing things out of proportion, adding that they still considered the midfielder to be part of their squad.
"I still have at least two years left on my contract and Tusker have told me to wait for another two months before they can give me a release. I guess it all has to do with their reluctance to pay me my dues because that could amount to a fortune given the lengthy period still remaining on the contract," said Ominde. "We have already lodged an appeal with FKF and I'm hopeful the federation will give me a release because as things stand now I can't feature for Bandari in any league encounter."
"I've been training with Bandari for a while now from the time I penned a deal with them. Everything else is in place as far as the deal with Bandari is concerned, only the release letter remains for us to complete the deal," revealed Ominde.
Ominde was among the 11 players said to have been offloaded by the brewers at the end of the season. "The decision equally shocked me just as well. When I sought an explanation from coach Robert Matano, he surprisingly told me he decided to offload me because I happen to have a tiny body frame. That explanation didn't make any sense to me given he had fielded me for the better part of the preceding season. Anyway, I don't want to play for Tusker anymore. All I need now is the release letter that will set me free to feature for Bandari," said Ominde.
Tusker chairman Daniel Aduda, however, said Ominde was unnecessarily blowing things out of proportion, adding that they still consider the midfielder to be part of their squad.
"Faraj is still a Tusker player. Ask him if he hasn't received his salary. However, we can't keep him if he is determined to leave. Like any other employee in any other organisation, Faraj is at liberty to terminate his contract because the law states quite clearly that either party may terminate the contract," said Aduda."All Faraj wants is to have his cake and eat it, something that cannot happen. In fact, we are even contemplating a court action if he continues like this. If he has already penned a deal with Bandari, then he has courted trouble because that will be considered as double signing," he added.
Ominde's recent superb form in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League matches handed him his debut call-up to the Kenya Under 23 provisional squad named by head coach Stanley Okumbi. The 22-year-old has been outstanding at the heart of the brewers' solid midfield and his partnership with Apollo Otieno has been instrumental in the side's impressive run last season.
After an impressive show at Homeboyz in the KPL youth tournament, the club’s management enticed him with an offer to feature for the senior team in the top tier but the principal thought it wasn’t good enough. He ultimately joined former top flight side Chemelil and after toiling there for one and a half years, he got offers from Vihiga, Bandari Tusker and AFC Leopards. However, he finally settled for Tusker under Robert Matano.
Ominde fondly recalls how his father would take them along to the stadium to watch big games. “We owe a lot of success in football to dad. Besides training us when we were young, he would also take us with him to the stadium on numerous occasions,” he said.