AFC Leopards have once again turned to former international Anthony Kimani to steer their ship following the resignation of Czech Tomas Trucha.
Trucha threw in the towel on Thursday, barely a month after taking over the reign at the den — citing safety concerns after his Nigerian manager, Prince Chaniss was allegedly threatened by persons known to the club.
Leopards regretted the incident and in a statement said: “This has been occasioned by the coach feeling that his safety is not guaranteed since his manager, Prince Channis, has been threatened by people purporting to be Ingwe supporters. This is disturbing and unacceptable for anyone who claims to be a supporter of this esteemed club.”
It added: “True AFC Leopards’ supporters hold themselves to the highest standard and put the club’s and public good before all else. At this time, the remaining technical bench shall take charge as we consider a replacement. On behalf of the management, we thank Trucha for his contributions to the club and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Meanwhile, Trucha called on the peace-loving Ingwe die-hards to support Shikanda, his executive as well as Kimani and his technical bench.
“I like what Shikanda and the committee are doing in the team and as I leave, I ask fans and other relevant stakeholders to work in harmony and bring glory back to the club,” said Trucha.
“I was accorded maximum support in Kenya but it’s unfortunate my manager, who works hard for his players and coaches was threatened for no reason. It’s sad and illegal what they are doing to him. Even as I exit, I have shared my ideas with the chairman to improve the players and technical bench, whom I enjoyed working with,” said the former Township Rollers coach.
Shikanda confirmed that, with Trucha’ s fate sealed, Kimani will once again take over, albeit on an interim basis. Kimani served in the same capacity from December last year after Andre-Cassa Mbungo left citing lack of pay.
