Former Cricket Kenya (CK) chief executive officer, Oliver Kobus has termed his tenure in Kenya as a waste of time.
Kobus lamented that poor management at CK had made his job impossible hence regretted his stay in the country.
The South African said his seven-month stint as general manager in Kenya was a huge nightmare for him as he was turned into a lame-duck boss.
“One of the regrets I have in cricket is the experience I had working in Kenya. When I took over the job after quitting the game, I thought it would help me achieve but it turned out to be a big disappointment,” Kobus recalled.
He added: “The way cricket was run in Kenya at the time contributed to the country’s decline of the game. The board was not only not up to the task but also very weak with no powers. The organisation was sort of one-man show and excuting my job was a nightmare.”
He recalled how he would be driven to the office of the CK chairlady Jackie Janmohammed on daily basis to get order on what to do.
The South African, who was appointed in 2014, claimed that CK cared less about youth development programs and only focused on World Cup qualification.
He said Kenya has a wide pool of experienced former players, who are not being utilised to help develop the sport at the junior ranks.
Kobus recalled how he ran into trouble with the CK chairperson for having invited a former national team player to a mini-cricket tournament at Ruaraka Sports Club.
“I invited Asif Karim to the event which I thought was a fantastic thing but the following Monday, I was summoned to Janmohammed’s office and she expressed her dissatisfaction with the move,” Kobus said.
He also opened up on his stay in Kenya, saying during his working stint, he was in the country illegally since he only operated on tourist visa and never got a work permit.
“I was a lame duck general manager with no powers to make any decisions. I only implemented unilateral decisions of the chairperson,” he added.
