A once high-flying international footballer has been forced to settle for an average life after waning fortunes from his football career that once paid handsomely.
From living in posh suburbs of the city, partying at high-end joints with expensive looking women and driving classic vehicles; all this has faded away and life is pushing him to an average lifestyle.
This is the story of celebrated striker for the Harambee Stars, Dennis Oliech.
Oliech also captained the team before he was stripped the title by former coach Adel Amrouche over indiscipline.
The 32-year old had an illustrious football career about 12 years ago when he joined the French Ligue 1 club in France and later FC Nantes after a brief stay in Qatar.
But the club was relegated and he quickly moved to Auxerre.
But his stay here was grounded once again after the club was relegated and he was forced to move to AC Ajaccio and his last international club he played for a stint of six months was UAE’s Al Nasr SC in 2015.
At the zenith of his football career, he pocketed a cool Sh150 million annually while playing for Auxerre and Sh92 million at AC Ajaccio.
At the time, he made real estate investments and opened up new businesses including a posh clothing line in Hurlingham, an entertainment label among others.
However, according to a publication by the Star on Tuesday [October 3 2017], Oliech’s financial power is on a downward spiral.
He has sold off some of his property while leasing out others including his Cedar Valley House in Lavington.
His trademark in town, an elegant Chrysler can no longer be seen. In fact, he is rumored to be driving a Toyota brand which “has seen better days”.
He has moved to live with his “spanner boys” at a three bedroom apartment in Kileleshwa.
One of his friends told the Star: “Siku hizi Dess (as his “boys” refer to him) hana kakitu, kazi ni kuchana miraa na moguka pale Dago. Wale socialites walikuwa wanamdai sai hawaonekani. Cheki Facebook cover photo yake, hao ndo madem ahang out nayo”.
This loosely translates to: “These days Dess is broke, he spends his days chewing miraa and moguka in Dagoretti. Even the socialites who used to hang around him are nowhere to be seen. Look at his facebook photo profile and see the caliber of women he is hanging out with.”
By Pharis Kinyua. He’s an online Journalist and an author for Jamhuri News