Marked for Ibrahim Ochieng
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match13 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Mara Sugar's wait for a win
12 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Mara Sugar has to find a result from somewhere.
Match13 Feb 2027
Chastening afternoon for Mara Sugar
A 0‑4 beating by Mathare United was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Market15 Feb 2027
Aineah Ndete hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Mara Sugar can pretend not to have heard.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Jonas Mailula was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match13 Feb 2027
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad15 Feb 2027
A row about effort at Mara Sugar
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Luyanda Makhathini was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Boardroom15 Feb 2027
The manager kept them in and said what needed saying. A response is expected on Saturday, and if it does not come the questions move upstairs.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Mara Sugar are still strangers to each other
10 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Mara Sugar's wait for a win
9 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Mara Sugar has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Alex Imbusia was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Too much change too quickly at Mara Sugar
9 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.67 on the card, and the Mara Sugar support went home talking about one name.
Match19 Sep 2026
It needed Mark Bikokwa to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Gor Mahia, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Patrick Mwendwa chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Mara Sugar training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Mukangula is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Mara Sugar will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑3 by AFC Leopards, and beaten everywhere it matters. The inquest starts on the training pitch on Monday morning.
Market3 Aug 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad3 Aug 2026
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad3 Aug 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Alex Imbusia and Mara Sugar agree another 3 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Alex Imbusia and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Market3 Aug 2026
He signed expecting a bigger stage than the one he found. It has not taken long, and it has not taken the dressing room long to notice either.
Boardroom3 Aug 2026
Nobody left the Mara Sugar dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Market3 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.