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PART 3
Note: due to threats, the names of the sources are altered. In the video above Philip Onyango narrates how to hide evidence in a similar fashion to how an alleged victim narrated happened to her. In this part, we’ll look at past cases dating from the year 2000 onwards.
Click here to read Part 1
Click here to read Part 2
Two women, both orphaned, have alleged former Kenya’s youth coach and disgraced journalist Philip Onyango Ombajo raped them.
The incidents allegedly happened in 2005 and 2010.
Teresa (not her real name) was a 17-year old with parental responsibilities when the alleged rape occurred.
Solara (not her real name) said Ombajo, popularly known as Onyango, attempted to rape her but failed because she fought back.
Solara was 21 at the time.
Onyango did not respond to a request for comment about the latest allegations, but in previous statements, he denied wrongdoing.
“NEVER, NEVER, NEVER for the close to 31 years, I have been coaching netball and basketball in Kenya. Not even a report to the school principal or local chief,” Onyango said, using all caps for emphasis.
But the allegations keep coming. And they come at a time when the world is taking a keen look at sexual harassment in African sports.
In June 2021, players in Mali accused Amadou Bamba, who, similar to Onyango, was the Under-18 girls’ national basketball team coach. According to Human Rights Watch report, players accused Bamba of sexually assaulting them and punishing those who refused to comply with his demands by thwarting their careers.
Kenyan players are accusing Onyango of similar misdeeds.
Unlike Onyango, whom police released due to insufficient evidence to sustain an attempted rape charge, Bamba was indicted and arrested. He is awaiting trial on charges of pedophilia, attempted rape, and molestation, Human Rights Watch reported.
The similarity between the Mali and Kenyan case doesn’t stop there. Kenyan players allege Kenyan Basketball Federation (KBF) knew about Onyango’s alleged predatory behavior but still allowed him to house female players at his residence in Mombasa.
Investigations commissioned by Kenya’s sports ministry and another by KBF have not yielded anything. Some in the basketball fraternity’s Facebook page are starting to suspect a cover-up is underway.
The suspicion that KBF is covering for Onyango is further bolstered by Onyango’s statements in a secretly recorded phone conversation where Onyango can be heard using dirty tricks to campaign for KBF President Paul Otula. In the recording, Onyango boasted of having Otula’s ears, and an insider within KBF. He also spoke openly about housing female players. The widely shared 2019 recordings, caused a major fallout within the basketball community that persists to the day.
It’s impossible and implausible for KBF officials to claim they never knew Onyango housed female players.
As a sports journalist with The Nation, Onyango often wrote fawning articles favoring Otula and his administration, while at the same time attacking Otula’s perceived rivals. In one article Onyango wrote, and carried exclusively by The Nation, Otula and KBF secretary Peter Orero attacked Coach Ronnie Owino after women’s national team members posted a viral video criticizing the government and KBF for withholding their allowances.
Otula’s vicious attack on the women’s national team over the video stands in stark contrast with his silence about the sexual misconduct scandal embroiling his pal Onyango, and the federation he heads. To date, neither Otula nor his office has personally addressed the matter or even checked on Joy Mupalia, the alleged victim who accused Onyango of attempted rape on July 3rd, triggering the current investigations.
“Kitu inaniuma sana is still none of them has given any statement hata huyu chairman or president wa KBF (Otula) hajaongea amenyamaza tu nkt,” Kanini (not her real name) and one of Onyango’s accusers said. (Translation: what bothers me is none of the KBF officials, including the Chairman or the President have said anything [about these allegations] they’re just silent.)
Otula and KBF Secretary-General Ambrose Kisoi did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Several players and members of the basketball fraternity said Onyango preyed on vulnerable girls.
“He goes bring these girls from shags (upcountry) and promising them scholarships for education, and they end up staying at his place,” Kariba, who has known Onyango for more than 20 years, said. “This is where Philip pounced on these girls and harassed them and sexually abused them if they don’t toe the line.”
Over the years, Onyango has developed a well-orchestrated partnership with local schools that ensures a steady supply of girls.
Over the two decades, he has found the girls scholarships to Mombasa high school, Shimba Hills school, and Kaya Tiwi school.
But it was not all for free. Several women have alleged Onyango demanded sexual favors from them and used them to earn money by shaving off part of their allowance whenever they went on away games.
It’s almost impossible to estimate how many girls were affected, but here are some of their stories.
Below are some of the places associated with Philip Onyango’s alleged activities.
TERESA
For ten years, Teresa has stayed silent about her alleged ordeal in Onyango’s hands. But after witnessing what happened to Joy Mupalia, she decided to speak up.
“She was raped (allegedly by Onyango). I felt sorry for her,” Mupalia said. “She kept it for over ten years. For her, it was worse. I really thank God mine was not that bad.”
Onyango took advantage of her vulnerable circumstances, lured her to a Mombasa hotel with promises of free education and opportunity to play basketball abroad, and allegedly raped her multiple times overnight.
Life has not been easy for Teresa.
Teresa’s mother, a single mom, died when she was 15, leaving her an orphan with five younger siblings in her care.
“My mom died when I was 15 in 2002, Teresa said. “I had just joined form 1 the second month in February. After burial went to school for like two weeks, but I could not continue with school because, at my house, we had kids behind me who needed food and school, also I needed fees.”
People who know Onyango allege he preys on vulnerable females like Teresa. He lures them with promises of scholarships and opportunities to play basketball abroad.
In 2005, Teresa had only one ambition, finishing high school. Her dreams almost ended when she was sent home for lack of school fees.
While out of school, Teresa met two girls at her church who introduced her to basketball. She practiced daily in her flip-flops until they wore out.
“I trained for two weeks, and my slippers zikatoboka chini (Translation: her sandals wore out and formed a hole underneath from playing basketball), “Teresa said.
Lucky for her, her coach brought her basketball shoes the next day, and she kept on practicing and becoming a good player.
Later that year, some girls from a neighboring school approached her with a proposition changing her life forever.
They told me Shimba Hills coach was looking for good players to play for the school and gain a scholarship, so Teresa said they gave him her phone number.
The Shimba Hills coach was Onyango.
He told me, I hear you’re a good player. We’ll award you a scholarship to play at Shimba Hills, we’ll provide you with everything you need at school, and if you turn out to be a great player, we’ll even find you a scholarship to play in the US.
Onyango sent her bus fare to Mombasa. She arrived in Mombasa around noon. Onyango picked her up and took her to Magongo Guesthouse. He told her to stay there and wait for other girls to join them and then proceed to Shimba Hills School.
“At around 8 pm, my door was knocked, and I told myself the woman (receptionist) is here maybe food is ready, I opened the door, but it was Onyango. I thought he was here with girls or to update me on anything,” Teresa said. “Nikampisha akaingia (Translation: I let him in), and he closed the door.”
Upon entering the room, Onyango placed his bag on the bed and started undressing. She was shocked. Teresa said she tried to flee, but Onyango had locked the door and held onto the keys, practically making her hostage. In those days, hotels did not have smart doors.
She resigned to her terrifying fate, sat on a chair in the room, not knowing what else to do to get out of her predicament.
“He got off all his clothes, and he went to the bathroom. He picked a white towel, after some time, he came out naked, no towel, Nothing,” Teresa said.
Onyango, naked, lay on the bed belly up, exposing his genitals, Teresa said. She tried to scream, but she couldn’t.
Then saw Onyango reaching into his bag.
“He got something (out of the bag). He wore something, and it’s when I realized it was a condom,” Teresa said. “After that, he forced himself on me.”
Teresa said she was a little girl with no match for a much larger and stronger Onyango, who was harsh and insulted her.
“He kept asking, ‘are you feeling pain?'” Teresa recounted, noting he never stopped. “When I fought with him, he threw words[at me] he said ‘you are not a baby I didn’t send you [bus]fare for free. Kwani, you’re a virgin am better than those boyfriends of yours who can’t buy you pads.”
Several victims have alleged Onyango often touts the favors he has done for them and mocks boys for being broke and unable to provide the girls with sanitary pads.
Teresa said she cried the whole night, but Onyango did not seem to notice or care. He allegedly raped her again in the morning.
“In the morning when he was on me, he just grabbed me na kunigauza (turned me over), and he was on top of me,” Teresa said. “I don’t know if he had a condom that morning, but what I know [is] he was very big. I could not even move to escape.”
When Onyango finished, he went to the bathroom before leaving around 5 am and not saying a word to her. He even left the door unlocked, Teresa said. She’s not sure if he took a shower, but a wet towel she later found suggests he did. She, however, heard the toilet flushing, but she does not remember seeing the used condom or wrappers in the room.
“He got something (out of the bag). He wore something, and it’s when I realized it was a condom,” Teresa said. “After that, he forced himself on me.”
The detail of the flushing toilet and the missing used condom is significant.
In what he called a “free lesson” to Ansalim Onalo, a sports gear entrepreneur, who secretly recorded him, Onyango spoke about how to dispose of used condoms to avoid leaving behind evidence.
“Unajua hizo choo za kuflush, ukishamaliza, lazima ufunge condom vizuri na TP,” Onyango said: (Translation: You know those flushing toilets, after having sex, you need to take the used condom, and nicely wrap it up with toilet paper.)
On hearing this, Onalo said, “eeh,” a figure of Kenyan conversation meant to express agreement or to keep the conversation interactive. Onalo meant to urge on the conversation, but Onyango wrongly took it as an affirmation Onalo agreed with him.
In the following sentence, however, Onyango may have told on himself.
“Naona wewe ni member pia, unasema eehh,” (Translation: I see you’re also a member of our club since you’re agreeing) he said amid laughter.
With the statement, Onyango lumped the two men as members of a perverted club he implicitly admitted belonging to, which preys on female players.
Onalo protested the characterization, saying “hapana (no),” but it was no use because Onyango kept talking over him.
“Halafu saa ile umeflush, unsaidia kupush ndio iende otherwise si itabaki pale ikielealea?” Onyango said, concluding his free lesson. (Translation: Then, when you flush the toilet, you must push the condom in to ensure it goes down the drain. Otherwise, the condom will not go down and instead float in the toilet bowl water.)
It’s plausible Onyango may have flushed the condom he used during his encounter with Teresa down the toilet to hide the possibility of leaving behind DNA evidence, just as he described in the secretly recorded conversation.
The rape, which allegedly took place in 2005, is the most severe accusation leveled at Onyango thus far. If charged and found guilty, Onyango could face at least 15 years in prison.
Kenya’s 2006 Sexual Offences Act is one of the most progressive in the world. Victims of sexual crimes can file a complaint at any time, even after many years.
“Rape (sexual offenses) is a criminal offense, and In Kenya, under the Limitation of Actions Act, criminal offenses do not have a limitation period as such you can be charged even after 30 or 40 years,” Nairobi Lawyer Walters Omondi said.
The ordeal left Teresa violated and immobile. She said she could barely walk. She called her friend Salome (not her real name) to come and pick her up from the guesthouse.
Salome said when Teresa told her she was meeting Onyango; she knew what had happened. It turns out she, too, is an alleged victim of Onyango, but she narrowly escaped.
“I just knew she will be molested,” Salome said. “I went [to] pick her up. She was just tensed [up]. She was not able to tell me anything at that time because I guess she was afraid or scared.”
SOLARA
In 2010, Solara traveled from the upcountry to watch basketball finals at secondary school in Nairobi.
After the game, Onyango approached her, telling her it was too late to return home. Instead, he offered to put her up in a Nairobi hotel room he had booked and travel back the next day.
She agreed and followed him to the hotel, which she said was near the Coast Bus station.
Mupalia, who accused Onyango of attempted rape on July 3, said Onyango took her to a hotel near Coast Bus station, believed to be either Veecam or Kafico Hotel.
Solara said she did not pay much attention to the name of the hotel because she felt safe. She had known Onyango for a long time, she trusted him,
Onyango told Solara he’d book two rooms, giving her the impression she’d have her own space.
But she was wrong.
“He told me, ‘let me show you where you will sleep,'” Solara said. And when he opened the door, he entered and never got out. The room had only one bed.”
Solara alleges Onyango sexually assaulted her.
“He ripped my clothes by force and also threw insults saying that we girls pretend to be innocent yet we have boyfriends,” Solara said. “He tried to penetrate but was not successful since I was a virgin and I was fighting back.”
The next day Solara said she informed two close relatives and a family friend what Onyango allegedly did to her.
“She told me about it, and I even shared the information with some of our relatives at home,” Audrey (not her real name) said. “We had no one to look for help from. So we let the matter die.”
“He ripped my clothes by force and also threw insults saying that we girls pretend to be innocent yet we have boyfriends,” Solara said. “He tried to penetrate but was not successful since I was a virgin and I was fighting back.”
Audrey expressed confidence in Solara.
“Knowing Solara, she would never lie over such a sensitive issue,” Audrey said.
Solara said Onyango did not take it kindly that she spoke up. He threatened them.
“He told me no matter where we go, we can’t take him anywhere,” Solara said. “He went ahead and told me if I go to the police station and report and he will call his lawyer, and we shall see who’s in the losing end.”
Solara said the ordeal had traumatized her and ruined her life.
“I wish you knew how my life is a mess. It’s 11 years down the line, and I have done nothing constructive with my life,” Solara said.
Solara, just like Teresa, is an orphan. She resigned her fate to God.
“And since I didn’t have parents who could fight for me, I gave up and let God expose him,” Solara said.
FIDA-Kenya, a consortium of lawyers representing women issues, is representing Mupalia pro-bono and is seeking to represent other alleged victims of Onyango’s alleged predatory behavior.
Lawyer Eunice Lumallas said FIDA is working with independent investigators and alleged former victims and is looking to file new charges such as sexual harassment.
Lumallas said FIDA is also looking for other legal avenues of holding accountable “relevant authorities and organizations for negligently exposing vulnerable children and girls to sexual exploitation.”
The work ahead is challenging. The alleged incidents go as far back as almost three decades. Investigating such an incident would require a lot of financial resources.
FIDA relies on donations to fund its operations.
“It is expected that effort will be made to ensure that FIDA receives the support it requires to ensure that justice is done and suspects face their victims before the law,” Lumallas said.
Lumallas has encouraged all victims to report to the police, even if the incident happened a long time ago.
“And since I didn’t have parents who could fight for me, I gave up and let God expose him,” Solara said.
OTHER ALLEGED VICTIMS
Four other women have also gone on the record alleging they escaped Onyango’s unwanted sexual advances by fighting back, sheer luck, or willpower to resist his pressure.
PATRA
Patra is the first alleged victim interviewed not associated with Onyango through basketball. Her account shows Onyango did not restrict his alleged predatory behavior to basketball.
Yet somehow, he skated through and was never held accountable until recently, when Mupalia accused him of attempted rape. Patra made apparent efforts to resist Onyango’s alleged advances and reported to relevant authorities at The Nation.
Her report led to the sacking of Onyango’s boss at the time, but Onyango was spared. The Nation has not responded to my request for comment.
Patra’s and Onyango’s families hail from the same area in Luo Nyanza and know each other well. Patra, who currently resides in Europe, sought Onyango’s help for an internship at The Nation.
Her aunt connected her with Onyango, who worked at The Nation as a sports writer. Onyango picked her up from the Mwembe Tayari bus station at around noon. Patra was not happy; she had waited there since 6 am. He didn’t tell her where they were going, but they soon arrived at their destination – a dingy lodging in Mombasa.
He left her there and returned at around 4 pm.
“When he comes, he sits on the bed, and he’s making sexual advances at me,” Patra said.
She rebuffed him, and Onyango threw a familiar line at her.
“Ati, what was I expecting? I should behave like an adult,” Patra tried to shame him. “I told him, and you wanted to date my auntie, or did you date her? She’s my mum’s sister; you know that?”
But that did not work. Onyango kept trying.
“So we wrested I told him if he continues, I’ll shout for help,” Patra said.
Patra said at The Nation, Onyango was not the only one who tried to seduce her; another Nation management staff tried as well.
She recounted an incident at the Nation Bureau office where she was required to submit her paperwork. When she handed them over, the man held her hand and tickled her palm with his index finger, signaling her to hook up later.
Patra said she pulled her hand away and admonished the man, who was surprised by her reaction. Onyango came out and reprimanded her.
“Philip calls my auntie to say even at the office najifanya mjuaji,” Patra said. “I should learn to lay down as an envelope.”
Finally, she followed the advice of a Nation manager that may be working at the Nation, was not for her, and abandoned her desired to work there.
Patra said she believes society should empower women to understand they don’t have to give sexual favors to prosper in their careers.
She credits her strong belief in personal integrity and responsibility for surviving an alleged attempted sexual assault by the hands of Onyango.
“Girls or young ladies should know that you don’t need to be in a sexually intimate relationship with an influential man to get ahead,” Patra said.
KANINI, SIERRA, SALOME, AND DIANA: NO SMALL PRICE TO PAY.
Kanini, Sierra, Salome, and Diana (not their real names), crossed paths with Onyango in a similar fashion but separately. They’re all basketball players who went to school in the Mombasa area.
Onyango allegedly lured them with his standard lines- high school scholarships in Mombasa and college scholarships to play basketball in the US.
Before an encounter where Onyango allegedly tried to force her into having sex with him, Kanini thought highly of him.
In 2006 while attending high school in Mombasa, Kanini said Onyango offered her a spot in a local team and a scholarship.
The offer, she said, was too generous because she was one of the smallest girls around, but she went along.
Onyango’s team always won the tournaments, and she wanted to be a part of it.
“In high school, he (Onyango) was the famous coach. Everyone wanted to be noticed by him coz we believed it was a great honor,” Kanini said.
They met at several tournaments, and Kanini noticed something odd about the girls in Onyango’s team.
“They never socialized with anyone, mostly boys from other schools. They were never allowed. He was very protective over them,” Kanini observed.
She brushed off the feeling. But female players Onyango has coached say he forbid the girls from talking to boys. An assertion Onyango confirmed in a secretly recorded phone call between him and Onalo.
Things took a dark turn when Onyango invited Kanini to his workplace at The Nation newspaper Mombasa office, where he worked as a sports journalist.
“He told me because anakuanga (stays) busy we have to meet akitoka (comes from) job we discuss how he can make things happen for me,” Kanini recalled.
They agreed to meet that night go together to the hotel. She said no alarms went off in her mind because Onyango treated her well and even showed her his workplace.
At the hotel room, Onyango showed Kanini examples of players he had helped. She was impressed. And suddenly, Onyango made his move.
“Then from nowhere, akanisongelea (he moved closer) and grabbed me,” Kanini said. “Before you get the benefits or his promises, lazima umpatie (girls must sleep with him). Akasema (he said), that’s how it goes.”
Kanini, 16 at the time, was startled.
“Hee, mimi navile nilikua kadogo nikashtuka, (as a small-statured girl, I got scared.)”
Onyango told her the girls who agreed to sleep with him have moved up in life and become successful.
“So ndio huyo Onyango amenishika, (Translation: Onyango grabbed me) Kanini said. “He says it’s a small price to pay for a big future.”
A struggle ensued.
“So tukaanza kuvutana, mimi na kamwili kangu kadogo akanigrab boobs,” , Kanini said. (Translation: despite me being tiny, we started to tug and pull at each other, body, suddenly he grabbed my breasts)
But she kept fighting him. She was wearing a buttoned-down shirt, and in the process of the struggle, three top buttons got ripped off.
“Now akapata nafasi ya kunishika viruzi, ” Kanini said. “I fought juu ya mwili ndogo nikaponyoka (Translation: the open shirt gave Onyango a firm grip of her. But because of my small stature and agility, I slipped away).”
She managed to open the door and ran out of the room. She kept running her missing buttons, exposing her torso. She did not realize just how far she had run. She came to her senses after several blocks. And realized she did not have the bus fare. Onyango had promised him, but she had to dash off in a hurry. From the city center to her home was 45 minutes. She hailed a bus, but when she got to her destination she jumped out of the bus and ran, stiffing them on the fare money
“Akasema yeye ni mtu mkubwa hakuna mahali anaeza pelekwa, hata niseme wapi no one will believe me na ako na lawyers,” Kanini said.
(Translation: He said he’s a bigshot, and she could take him nowhere. And it was useless to report because nobody would believe her. Besides, he has lawyers on the ready.)
“Nilipofika mtwapa nikashuka. The conductor alibaki akishout pesa yake, mimi nikaenda am sure alinitusi sasa,” Kanini said. (Translation: When I arrived at Mtwapa, I alighted and walked away without paying. The conductor shouted at me asking for the fare, but I took off. I’m sure he hurled insults at me.)
She got home, and she did not tell anybody. She did not even report to the police.
“My brain found a way to block that out. I didn’t wanna remember it, so I found a way to forget it,” Kanini said.
Onyango did not stop pursuing her. He called her that night, but she refused to answer his call. Kanini said he continued to chase her and even asked her to meet her in the hotel again.
She knew it was a trap. Despite what had happened, she said Onyango called her several times that day, trying to convince her. But Kanini refused and told him she knew what he was up to.
“Akasema yeye ni mtu mkubwa hakuna mahali anaeza pelekwa, hata niseme wapi no one will believe me na ako na lawyers,” Kanini said.
(Translation: He said he’s a bigshot, and she could take him nowhere. And it was useless to report because nobody would believe her. Besides, he has lawyers on the ready.)
After picking up her friend Teresa from the hotel, Salome said they bumped into Onyango, who insulted them.
“He told me I’m useless, and we shall meet,” Salome said, explaining Onyango meant it as a threat. “But I told him maybe in hell because that’s where he belongs.”
Unbeknownst to Teresa, Salome too is an alleged victim of Onyango’s at the same guesthouse.
“He tried to assault me the very first day I met him in a hotel room,” Salome said. The hotel was called Magongo Inn Hotel. [That’s] where he used to take all the girls from upcountry.”
Magongo Inn, now known as Magongo Safari Hotel, is located nearby Onyango’s house.
Magongo is also the scene of another alleged victim says Onyango tried to get her in a room, but she escaped by sheer luck.
Sierra said Onyango tricked her that the team’s regular meeting venue had changed to a hotel in the Magongo area. She asked him where her teammates were upon arriving, but Onyango allegedly asked her to be patient, saying they were on their way.
Onyango excused himself while she waited. After waiting for some time and not seeing any of her teammates, she decided to go and check up on Onyango.
“Nikifika kwa stairs nakutana naye na jamaa wa room wakiongelea room ndio nikashuka mbio nakukimbia,” Sierra said.
(Translation: I got to the stairs, I stumbled upon Onyango and the hotel receptionist discussing room rates. I got spooked and dashed out of there.)
Diana acknowledges that Onyango has helped many girls.
“Wajua Onyi (Onyango’s nickname) kusema kweli amesaidia waschana wengi. But shida yake ni hakusaidii bure lazima ulipe na mwili wako,” Diana said. “Ako na roho poa ya kusaidia but not free.”
(Translation: To tell you the truth, Onyango has helped many girls. But the problem with him, it’s not for free, you have to pay for it with your body. He has an excellent helping heart, but it’s not free.)
Diana lived in Onyango’s house more than ten years ago while playing basketball at Shimba Hills. She said Onyango had promised to get her a scholarship to play in the US but reneged when she refused to sleep with him.
She alleges Onyango called her to his room multiple times and tried to seduce her into having sex with him.
Diana recounted one incident that stayed in her mind.
“Alikua na boxer na kifua wazi. Mimi nilikataa na hapo ndo alinichukia ameniaribia life huyo mtu,” Diana said. “He ruined my life. Nimeendup with nothing but God will punish him.”
(Translation: He was wearing boxer shorts with a bare chest. When I refused to have sex with him, that is where he started hating me and destroyed my life. He ruined my life. I have ended up with nothing. But God will punish him.)
Several women who refused Onyango’s advances toward them have alleged Onyango retaliated against them in various ways. He insults them whenever they meet; he has thwarted their careers; withheld their crucial documents, such as school certificates or travel documents. Additionally, he has allegedly denied them an opportunity to play in a team or demanded a portion or all of their allowances whenever they went to a game.
In part four, we’ll take a critical look at KBF and the systems that may have allowed such alleged abuses to occur.
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