Robert Matano with Tom Olaba/ HANDOUT
The Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) has stepped in to support ailing former Harambee Stars coach Tom Olaba, through its quarterly Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative aimed at uplifting vulnerable members of the sporting community.
The initiative is tailored to reach athletes, coaches and institutions across the sports ecosystem who are in dire need of support.
During the visit to his Olaba's Nairobi home, SJAK donated essential foodstuffs and household items worth Sh50,000 to help navigate his difficult times.
Once a revered tactician, Olaba is now confined to a wheelchair following spinal surgery that left him paralysed.
SJAK president James Waindi underscored the broader mission of the CSR programme, saying it goes beyond reporting sports to positively impacting lives.
“Our CSR programme considers the welfare of players, coaches, and other stakeholders we interact with daily," Waindi said.
He further called on well wishers to come in the aid of sporting veterans in the country.
“We are rolling out a quarterly philanthropic CSR program to reach out to vulnerable sporting personalities, but then again we are appealing to sponsors and well-wishers to extend their goodwill gestures to Olaba who has already pleaded with Kenyans to come to his aid and help him regain his walking abilities after he underwent a spinal cord surgery that has since left him paralysed,” he added.
Olaba’s visit marks the second CSR engagement under SJAK’s growing outreach efforts.
In 2018, the association, in partnership with Bandari FC and LG Electronics, visited Green Olive Children’s Home in Mtwapa, Mombasa, where they donated food and a 49-inch television set valued at Sh300,000.
Veteran tactician Robert Matano, who once deputized Olaba with Harambee Stars in 2006, joined the SJAK team during the visit.
He urged corporates and well-wishers to emulate SJAK by honoring sports legends while they are still alive.
“It’s heartbreaking. I hadn’t seen Tom in a while and did not expect his condition to be this serious,” Matano said.
“This initiative is powerful. It reminds us to check in on our heroes—people like Olaba, who gave so much to Kenyan football.”
Waindi revealed that SJAK is channeling part of its sponsorship revenue to sustain the CSR initiative.
Olaba, who coached Harambee Stars in 2006 before Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee took over, now struggles to afford regular physiotherapy sessions, each costing Sh3,000.
He needs daily therapy but currently manages only one session a week.
“I can’t do anything, I cannot move, my body is intact, my legs and hands are intact, I can’t do anything anymore, but the only thing I have is the feeling for the body, according to what my doctors told me, my spinal cord cracked, so they had to put a cage, to help support it,” he said.
Olaba thanked SJAK for reaching out to him at the hour of need, adding that the donation will go a long way in supporting his family meet their day-to-day ipbligations.
“I think I got the problem through football, even when I told my doctors it was because of football I injured my spine, they could not agree, but to me, I think it is because of football, I loved football very much, I played football from a very tender age, and I got injured then, but those days, I could not feel the pain because I was still a young boy,” Olaba explained.
The 65-year-old coach—who also assisted the late Reinhard Fabisch with the national team in 1997—once guided Tanzania’s Ruvu Shooting Stars to Premier League promotion and had two stints with AFC Leopards in the FKF Premier League.
He is now seeking assistance to resume recommended thrice-weekly therapy sessions, which he believes are vital to improving his condition.
“If I get further help, I will consult the surgeon again to explore more options for recovery,” he added.
Matano, who considers Olaba a mentor and relative, called for unity within the sporting fraternity to ensure legends like Olaba don’t suffer in silence.
“If not for SJAK, I wouldn’t have known how bad things were. This initiative is a blessing—it gives visibility to forgotten heroes and might just be the push Coach Olaba needs to walk again,” he said.
