Ssimbwa was not sabotaged – Kalekwa

Sofapaka FC president Elly Kalekwa has refuted claims Ugandan coach  Sam Ssimbwa was sabotaged by players, forcing him to resign.

Ssimbwa threw in the towel after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat by struggling Thika United in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) clash at the Thika Sub County stadium, coming from another 1-0 defeat to Nzoia Sugar.

The two consecutive defeats, according to the coach, were engineered by players who wanted him out of the 2009 KPL champions.

However, Kalekwa insists Ssimbwa had other reasons for his exit, citing the club is still enjoying a good start in the 2018 season, currently perched fourth in the 18-team log.

“I can’t force him to work if he doesn’t want, because he has his own reasons for resigning. He claimed players were sabotaging him, so it’s up to him with the players. I however don’t have any problem with him ,” the Congolese told Citizen Digital.

Kalekwa is unperturbed of the experienced coach exit, keeping faith in the interim coach and former player John Baraza.

“Many people are longing to have this job, but for now we have Baraza (John) whom I’m expecting a good performance under him,” he reiterated.

Baraza will be in charge as Batoto ba Mungu cross swords with Sony Sugar on Sunday, seeking to reignite the winning formulae lost in the two previous matches.

The former Harambee Stars ace striker was the magic behind Sofapaka’s survival in the top league in 2016, in a hard season that saw them fight to the last match to escape the axe.