Crisis in Kenya’s Golf Leadership

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Golf’s Elephant atop the tree

Golf in Kenya while being among the smaller sports has for many years been very professionally run. That may however be in the past as the future looks very bleak if the current leadership is anything to go by. The sport is in the process of a transition from having different bodies represent men, women and juniors to having one entity that will run all aspects of the game.

This single entity has recently been renamed Golf Kenya. The current men’s body, the Kenya Golf Union is headed by Phillip Ocholla as Chairman. He was also recently elected as President of Golf Kenya, the organization that is meant to unify all golfing governance bodies into one unit. What confounds both golfers and non-golfers alike is why a seemingly educated and sophisticated golf fraternity would repeatedly choose a man like Ocholla to run the sport.

The burly and charming Ocholla is a people person who loves his drink and doesn’t hesitate to spend the golf union’s money to buy mzingas for anyone in his company any time he is at any golf club. But that is the least of Kenyan golfer’s problems. Ocholla is currently in South Africa with four other officials accompanying the national junior team that will be competing in the Africa junior team championship.

In something reminiscent of the National Olympic Committee that (mis)handled the 2016 Rio Olympics, the junior team comprising of 7 players is accompanied by 5 officials! The others are Regina Gachora, President of the Junior Golf Foundation, Vincent Mukiri, and coaches John Liefland and John Wangai. The story of how the junior team selection was done to conveniently include Gachora’s daughter who was clearly not qualified, will be told another day. Why such a huge ratio of officials to players for this junior team?

Here however is the crux of the matter – The wannabe politician, Ocholla whose home club is Muthaiga Golf Club, sells golf course equipment for a living. His company Turf Machinery and Irrigation Limited is the regional distributor for an American manufacturer, Toro. He is therefore able to use his positions as Chairman and President of Kenya Golf Union and Golf Kenya respectively, to arm twist golf clubs to buy golf course equipment from him.

This comes with its own share of controversy as he is said not to be a verystraightforward businessman. In a recent transaction with Royal Nairobi Golf Club where he clinched a deal through a financing company worth more than KSh. 20M, he failed to deliver the equipment and proceeded to forge the club’s documents to fool the financier to release payment. The matter is currently with DCI who have issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of Obtaining money by false pretenses. It is not clear why he has not yet been arrested more than a month since the warrant was issued.

The man has no shame; a few years ago, he charmed his way into being elected a board member at Muthaiga golf club during which period he used that position to get the club to buy a ridiculously expensive irrigation system from Toro. In typical fashion, he failed to deliver what he promised and as a result, was forced off the board. He was also compelled to refund monies to the club for the portion of the project that he failed to deliver.

With golf clubs filled with corporate and government leaders as well as lots of other intelligent and straightforward leaders in business, religion and other key sectors, why would a crooked alcoholic be their choice of a leader? How did this man end up getting to and staying at the top of golf’s leadership in Kenya?

Stay tuned for more on how the Junior Golf Foundation was hijacked by one family and been turned into a business and only open to kids from wealthy families.