How De Jongh managed to ‘fleece’ AFC Leopards
By DAVID KWALIMWA
Former AFC Leopards coach Pieter de Jongh has finally left the country for his native Netherlands after pocketing a huge payment from the club.
In what is considered a landmark ruling in the history of Kenyan football, the Dutch trainer, who served the club for 10 months, starting May 2014, went home Sh4 million richer months after successfully convincing two dispute resolution bodies that his contract had been unlawfully terminated by Ingwe.
Having been summarily dismissed by Leopards in February 2015 owing to among other reasons what the club administrators claimed was his inability to communicate effectively with the players, De Jongh, launched a case of unlawful dismissal first before the Kenyan Premier League’s Independent Disciplinary and Complaints Commission (IDCC) and later on, the Sports Tribunal.
FLAT BROKE
The two bodies ruled that he be paid the remainder of his year long contract reported to be worth Sh3.8 million at a time Leopards were flat broke.
The wily De Jongh however go on to convince the IDCC and Sports Tribunal to pay him from the monthly Sh500,000 grants remitted to the 16 top flight clubs by KPL.
“We have been forced to pay the man because of this ruling but the management is looking to now reach out to him and see if we can agree on some kind of a gentleman’s agreement to stagger the payments,” Suleiman Angulu, one of the club’s acting officials told Nairobi News.
