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By Muroro Pacho
Milimani-Strathmore
The year was 1979. And Nahashon Oluoch was a form six student at Highway secondary school. Gor Mahia had a strong unit that would later capture the imagination of the Kenyan public by reaching the final of the Africa cup winners cup and by winning the national league. It was a unit that had players like the legendary Allan Thigo, a midfield maestro per supreme, Andrew Obunga, a prolific goal scorer, Mike Ogolla “Machine”, John “Bobby” Ogolla, no doubt the best stopper ever to play in Kenya and another rising super nova by the name of Sammy Owino, who was nick named “Kempes”.
Nahashon Oluoch Lule in action
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Nahashon Oluoch was nicknamed “Lule” after the Ugandan president at the time. The Kenyan press dubbed him the school boy wonderboy. He was an excellent dribbler with supreme vision and intelligence and his inch perfect crosses often ended up with the ball finding the back of the net. To this day, Kenyans still think he is the best left winger Kenya has ever seen. Lule was named one of the top 10 players on the continent in 1979 by CAF. Amazing considering he was still a secondary school student. The following year, Lule played a pivotal role in helping Gor Mahia win the CECAFA cup for the first time ever. In the final match against arch rivals AFC Leopards, then known as Abaluhya, Lule set up the first goal with a cross to George Yoga who finished superbly before scoring the winning goal as Gor Mahia won 3-2.
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Lule and compatriot Sammy Owino Kempes left for the USA on football scholarships in 1982, breaking the hearts of Kogalo supporters who nevertheless wished them well. They joined Alabama A&M University. In 1984 with Lule and Kempes in their roster, Alabama A&M was ranked the top college team in the United states.
That same year, Lule returned to Kenya on holiday and played in a series of
friendly matches for Gor Mahia much to the delight of club fans. He returned to Kenya in 1989 and took a position as a lecturer at Egerton University. He has stayed active in football. In 2010 he was selected as a committee member to bring normalization to Kenya football.
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