Any mention of Kakuma evokes thoughts of the expansive and globally recognised Kakuma Refugee Camp.
But there’s more to this town in Turkana.
Kakuma United Football Club is one of the good stories coming out of this area, the club having overcome all odds to emerge one of the best football teams in Turkana County.
The team has been on a fine run in Football Kenya Federation’s National Division Two’s Western Zone League and has been doing well in various other tournaments.
The team currently tops the table with 52 points having played 22 matches followed closely by Chewoyet Football Club which has 45 points from 23 matches.
The team, which trains under the harsh weather conditions under the patronage of Tom Aduwa, who is the chairman, has beaten all odds to emerge top despite these many challenges.
The chairman said that the team is a symbol of unity given that those who play in the team don’t know each other but have decided to put their talents together as a unifying factor. The team established in 2018 has seven nationalities and a product of a long standing sports program that has been going on within the camp and immediate host community that started in 1990.
The team consists of Gathiang Kuol (goalkeeper), Both Nyang (defence), Deng Isaac Chol (defence), Beny Ater Awel (defense), Sebit Logocho (defense) and Joseph Wani Lado (midfielder) who are all from South Sudan.
Others from South Sudan includes Guot Kuol Deng (midfielder) and Isaac Garang (striker), Thethluai Thor (midfielder).
Those playing in the team from Congo includes Bukuru Christopher Asumani (defence), Kashindi Mbuto (defence), Bukuru Christopher (defence), Martin Kitulo (defence), Gaetan Masha (striker) and Gabriel Bugoma (striker).
Franco Odong (defence) hails from Uganda while Ndereyimana Mufariji (defence) originated from Burundi.
Nicholas Longole Lokwang (midfielder), Philip Ekal (midfielder), Brighton Ngipeto (midfielder)and Joseph Ekai (striker) are locals.
The team’s coach Heri Milongo hails from Congo while his assistant Jackson Ekuwam is a local who hails from Lodwar.
“In 2015 we up scaled the sports program by coming up with the Kakuma Fc that is composed of top cream which comprises 16 teams, from Kakuma 1, 2,3 4, Kakuma town and Kalobeyei,” said Aduwa.
FKF later invited the officials and asked them to come up with a team that will participate in the National Division Two League.
“Through our collaboration with FKF, they invited us from the sub county to come up with a team to participate in national division two league which we did and today the team is strong and we looking forward to play in the Kenya Premier League one day,” said the chairman.
In March last year, the team enrolled in the league and they played with teams from Lodwar, Kitale, Eldoret where they performed well in its inaugural by topping in the table of 11 teams.
“The worse we did last year was a draw and we topped. However, during the mini-league knockout between Zone A and Zone B, they were eliminated in the last match that was the most crucial to be promoted to Division one and we lost in the extra time by 3-1 against Busia Wolves,” said Aduwa. Kakuma has 21 nationalities and one critical thing is promoting unity and trying to promote peaceful coexistence the nationalities.
