Imagine you are in a foreign land, no activity relating to your profession and your freedom is limited.
This is the situation, Gor Mahia Ghanaian import, Jackson Owusu, has found himself in not because of the deadly coronavirus pandemic that has affected the country, but because of unpaid bills in a Nairobi hotel where he stays.
PENDING BILLS
The versatile midfielder has been staying at Jimlizer Hotel in Buruburu where Gor Mahia Organising Secretary Judith Anyango ‘Nyangi’ confirmed heo has accrued over Sh600,000 due to earlier and current pending bills.
Mr Owusu narrated to Nairobi News how he was dead broke and how his pleas to the club’s management to pay the pending bills have not been responded to as quickly as he expected.
The Ghanaian import joined Gor Mahia during the January transfer window and has been able to nail a starting berth under coach Steven Polack in many K’Ogalo matches including the last Mashemeji Derby against arch rivals AFC Leopards in February.
The Briton and the player also worked together when the former coached Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko way back in 2018 season. Polack is revered by the Ghanaian giants’ fans for leading them to the group stages of CAF Confederation cup.
“The Chairman (Ambrose Rachier) has always been promising to come on a number of occasions to assist me but he has not been here. I am not allowed to leave with anything out of the hotel until there is a commitment from the club that the money will be paid. As at now I don’t know when this will happen,” said Mr Owusu.
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He revealed that the issue has really troubled his poor parents in Ghana who are really worried about the plight of their son in a foreign land.
WORRIED PARENTS
“My parents are poor and fully depend on me and they live in Kumasi many kilometres away from Accra. But I have been forced to reach out to them and sometimes they have been forced to travel to town and send me something little. You also know that here at the club we have also not been paid and I can’t assist them.
“I survive many times by only eating one meal in a day and it has to be given out after the attendant has received the go ahead from the manager. Some fans brought me food on Wednesday and I am really grateful for their kind gesture,” he added.
While reacting to the issue, Gor Mahia Deputy Secretary General, Ronald Ngala, asked Mr Owusu to be patient, saying the issue will be handled by the club.
“He should be patient. He will be assisted,” Ngala said.
However, a source at the club revealed that it was not clear how Mr Owusu was still staying in the hotel yet fellow foreign players David Mapigano and Juma Balinya are living in the rental houses.
“Usually when a foreign player joins Gor they familiarise themselves with the environment for a month then after salary payments they move out and rent a house on their own,” said the source who wished not to be named.
RENTED HOUSE
Former K’Ogalo player Yikpe Ghislain, who joined Yanga SC, and Francis Afriye, who turns out for Township Rollers in Botswana, also lived in a rented house.
As the circus continues, the clubs’s Organising Secretary, Judith Anyango, has called on the fans to help raise Sh40,000 to help Mr Owusu rent a house if the efforts to assist him leave the hotel will bear fruits.
“I urge all our fans to come out and assist Owusu as we battle to see if he will be allowed to leave the hotel. The money will assist in paying three months upfront rent and by that time we shall have found a way out,” she said.
Commenting on the issue, an employee of the hotel, who only identified himself as Stano, told this scribe that the issue is being sorted out between the club and the management.
“Yes, we are aware of it and it is on the managers’ desk. It is being worked on,” the employee said without quoting the exact amount of money the hotel is owed by Gor Mahia.
By the time of filing this story, Mr Owusu had not eaten anything but was with one of K’Ogalo’s fans who had gone to check on him.