Green Commandos Star's Journey from Rejection to Redemption

The boy who now terrorises defences across Western Region once walked away from football altogether. Not because he lacked talent, but because his own indiscipline shut the door on him.

He was chased from the Green Commandos youth setup and, for a moment, that looked like the end.

"My football life started very early as a young kid. It got to a place where I did not want to play again, so I got a guardian who held my hand and returned me to football. I trusted myself and said, If I come back, I must perform and I will make it," he recalled.

Those are not the words of a seasoned professional. They belong to a teenager who has just finished top scorer at the KSSSA national games in Thika, hitting six goals and dragging his school back to the regional showpiece as Kakamega County and Western Region champions.

The same boy who once walked away now leads the line.

A Turning Point at Under-12

The break from the game did not last. Under the guidance of his guardian, he swallowed his pride, went back to the Under-12 team, and did something many young players struggle with: he apologised.

"I had left football because a lot was going on. The first time I was in, I was chased because I was indisciplined, but I came back to the team and apologised and continued to play," he said.

That moment changed everything.

From there, the versatile youngster began to reshape himself. He can operate on either flank, cut inside as an attacker, or drop back as a left-back. The raw talent remained, but his mindset shifted. Training stopped being a routine and became a responsibility.

"That was at the Under-12 team. The thing that has changed me a lot is that I decided to focus more on football and education, so I need to train hard, and the training is what is helping me to gain a lot."

The results soon followed.

Form One, Big Stage

In 2024, while still in Form One, he broke into the school’s senior team. No gentle easing in. He scored more than five goals in the sub-county games, powering the side into the county stage and announcing himself as far more than a promising kid.

That form caught the eye beyond school football. He earned promotion to the Green Commandos senior team, then competing in the FKF Division One league. Still in Form One, he made his debut in Kenya’s third tier, a stage that has swallowed many older players.

He did not stop there. His rise continued with a call-up to the Talanta Hela Under-19 side, another sign that his second chance at the game was being fully seized, not merely survived.

Lessons in Addis Ababa

The biggest shift in his game came with the Kenya Under-17 national team.

For a player known for his dangerous crosses, corner kicks, powerful runs and a fierce shot, the national coaches saw something more. During the CECAFA Under-17 AFCON qualifiers in Addis Ababa, they pushed him into a new role: left wing-back.

It demanded more discipline, more running, more concentration. He responded by playing every single minute of the campaign, never substituted, tasked with shutting down opponents one moment and launching attacks from deep the next.

"At the national team, I used to play as a wing-back. I did not play as an attacking player. So the experience I got there was valuable when I came here. I was pushed to play offensively, and so I used the experience I got as a left-back and brought it forward," he explained.

That education has rounded him out. The defensive instincts he picked up with Kenya now blend with his natural attacking instincts at Green Commandos. He reads danger better. He makes decisions quicker. He understands when to gamble forward and when to hold his position.

He is no longer just a winger or a full-back. He is a complete modern wide player.

Fighting to Finish Strong

This growth has come during a testing FEASSSA campaign for the KSSSA national champions. Green Commandos have stumbled early, losing their opening two group matches to Uganda’s Kyadondo Secondary School and Tanzania’s Urambo Secondary School.

One fixture remains: Bukedea Comprehensive of Uganda.

The mathematics of the group may not favour miracles at this stage, but pride still matters. So do standards. So does the statement a young team makes when its back is pressed against the wall.

For the school’s leading scorer, the target is simple now: sign off with maximum points, show the lessons of Addis Ababa and Thika have sunk in, and prove that a boy once thrown out for indiscipline can now be trusted to lead when it matters most.