Sometimes in life, you need to take one step backward in order to move forward with certainty. That is exactly the case with striker Jackson Oketch.
After years going under the radar of several Kenyan Premier League clubs, the Kibra-born goal-getter moved to the National Super League side, Vihiga Bullets.
His goals not only helped the unheralded club claim a historic place in the topflight league but also secured him the second top scorer gong—a deserved award for the 25-year-old.
“ I will only say it was God’s plan for me to make the switch to the National Super League and for us as Vihiga Bullets to eventually gain promotion. As a team, without God and the support of my teammates, I could not have become the second top scorer because they were the ones that pushed me to work harder. Through the hardship, we managed to become second in the NSL. It was so wonderful seeing my team being promoted and for me becoming the second top scorer in the league,” said Oketch.
Having grown up in abject poverty in one of Africa’s largest slum dwellings according to the United Nations, the reward and fame of scoring the second-highest number of goals in the NSL have not changed Oketch’s lifestyle. Instead, he revealed it has put more responsibility on his shoulder both on and off the field.
“I will say that my life has not changed much. It has also been a lesson for me to continue working hard and put God first for the journey has just begun. There is no room for me to sit in my comfort zone. I still have a task to do though it won’t be that easy. Now I am playing at another level and opponents are now aware of my threat. I have to work extra hard to reach the standards of last season,” Oketch remarked.
Oketch was born and raised in a Kibra in Nairobi, where he lived with his mom and dad and two sisters. His mom passed away and left them with their dad who is still taking care of them.
“The passing on of our mother brought us closer as a family. I am happy that because of football, I can also chip in and help my siblings. That is why I can’t rest on my laurels,” asserted Oketch.
The lanky striker started playing football while he was at St. Charles Lwanga Primary school in the Langata area.
“It was a school of orphans with some sponsorship from Italy. From there, I joined a small team called Association Voluntary Service (AVS), which came from Italy. Then we were being coached by David Ouma who was then Harambee Starlets coach before joining Sofapaka,” recounted Oketch.
Like his peers in the slum, Oketch faced familiar challenges trying to forge a career in football. “Most of the time, I played barefoot because I didn’t have boots. I and my teammates had no jersey for playing football so we used to play shirtless. Sometimes, I played on an empty stomach because there was no food. All this though could not have stopped me from enjoying what I loved—football—because I knew no condition is permanent,” Oketch said.
Growing up in Kibera, it was not by chance that Oketch looked up to Kenya’s legendary striker Dennis Oliech who was raised in the neighbouring Dagoretti estate.
“ My idol was Oliech also known as ‘Kajole’ for I used to watch him play and I enjoyed his style of play. I also used to watch Fernando Torres, former Spain international striker. I enjoyed seeing him play until I was nicknamed ‘ Torres’. To date, my friends and those we grew up together call me ‘Dicky Torres or Top Striker,” the Bullets forward said with a laugh.
From early on, Oketch was determined to be a professional footballer as he wanted to lift his family from penury.
“I took football as a career when I discovered that I had that talent and seeing European-based players earning lot of money through football. So I came from High school (Olympic High School in Kibera) and went for trials at Chemelil in Kisumu and that is where I took up football as my career,” said Oketch.
It was not all rosy for Oketch though and things were not as smooth as he had anticipated at Awasi.
“Things did not work on my side because they (Chemelil) wanted more experienced players. So I only signed for six months and went back to my family in Nairobi,” said Oketch.
The eye opening experience in Chemelil only served to make Oketch more determined to succeed. He would go on to play for Bidco and Sofapaka before eventually moving a notch lower to Bullets, where he would make history by helping them claim a maiden appearance in the Premier League.
He credits the success in his career to the coaching he received while still a teenager.
“The coach that has been pivotal in my career is non other than David Ouma (now assistant coach at Sofapaka). He is the one who coached me when I was at AVSI. He took me from Under-12 until to Under-16. There is a time when Ouma left and started coaching ladies at Githurai, where he was staying,” recalled Oketch.
In his seven years playing competitive football, the goal poacher has crossed paths with some of the best defenders in Kenya. But who does he consider his toughest to date.
“My toughest opponent was Kamura (Robinson) then the captain of AFC Leopards but now he has joined KCB. We used to meet like opponents during high school matches, especially when Olympic High was playing Jamhuri High. This is where we started playing against each other as opponents till today,” said Oketch.
He, however, puts down their historic ascendancy to the top division to a four-win sequence early in the 2021 season that propelled them from the relegation zone to the promotion places.
“ My most memorable match was that against Kisumu Superstars, where I scored a brace and took my team from number 17 to number 3 for we had not won any match by then. We had to climb up because at that time the league was tough. Not many teams were winning matches. We were the first team to win four straight matches and I was on the score-sheet of each of those matches,” he noted.
Having tasted life in the top two tiers of Kenyan football and with age still on his side, Oketch harbours ambition of playing outside Kenya.
“I see myself going far through this football journey and playing in a better league that pays a lot of money and also respects my talent as a job,” the ardent Arsenal fan disclosed. Though Bullets have been given a baptism of fire in the opening two matches of their top flight debut, Oketch is not too disheartened.
“ My expectation with Bullets is that we have to make sure we maintain our place in the FKF-PL this season and at least get a sponsor so that things cun ran smoothly in Vihiga Bullets,” he said.
Having been a beneficiary of other people’s magnanimity reroute to forging a career out of his talent, Oketch understandably is eager to give back. He concludes by revealing that he coaches a small team called Soccer Talent in Kibra as a way of giving back to the community and sharing his ideas with the young ones.
PLAYER BIO
Name:Jackson Oketch Oriko
Age :25
Current club: Vihiga Bullets
Previous Clubs: Bidco, Sofapaka, Chemelil
Education
Primary: St. Charles Lwanga
Secondary: Olympic High School; Langata High School and Kamukunji High school.
Awards: NSL second Top scorer golden boots
