Trouble is brewing at Gor Mahia after Tanzanian Premier League club Singida Black Stars issued a 14-day notice to the record Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions to refund the US$40,000 (Sh5.2m) transfer fee after Rooney Onyango’s failed move to Tanzania, or face Fifa action.
The Tanzanian side had struck a deal with K’Ogalo to have Onyango cross the border, but the deal never materialised.
According to a letter dated January 29, 2025, under reference no: SBS/HQ/ Rooney/04/025, Singida claim they wrote to Gor expressing interest in signing Onyango on November 12, 2024, which K’Ogalo replied two days later affirming the move and quoted US$40,000 transfer fee.
The Tanzanian club allegedly wired the US$40,000 to Gor’s account as agreed but after a back and forth, Singida wrote to Gor management again on January 3 to follow up on the refund.
In a letter to Gor Mahia CEO, Singinda wrote:
“Our club wrote to your club on 3/1/2025 requesting your club to kindly refund the said amount of USD 40,000 since the transfer did not materialise due to your fault.It is unfortunate that to date we have not received any response to our letter, neither have we received the refund. In the same context, your club is given 14 days within which to pay all the outstanding balance of 40000 USD. Failure to do so our club will refer the matter to Fifa for breach of our agreement.”
Gor Mahia CEO Raymond Oruo confirmed receipt of the letter and a failed deal.
They are working on modalities to refund the cash within the 14-days as demanded by Singinda.
A close ally to the player claims the deal was stuck verbally pending paperwork only for the player to change his mind at the last minute.
Rooney’s agents expect him to get a better deal after the Chan tournament in August with his value likely to rise.
The Kenyan international previously got a deal with an Italian side but it again failed to materialise due to an alleged paperwork hitch that saw him miss their Caf Champions League preliminary clash against Al Merreikh Bentiu of Sudan on August 18, 2024.
The previous FKF office, through CEO Barry Otieno, confirmed Rooney, alongside three others— Ben Stanley, Shariff Majabe and Musa Masika — had a dispute over their documents, which had been confiscated by the embassy.
FKF ended the matter amicably and Onyango played in their second leg against African champions Al Ahly away in Cairo.
