Chris Oguso: A police officer and transformative force in Kenyan football

Police FC CEO Chris Oguso with football trophies / BRIAN OTIENO

He mingles easily with other football fans, and just like them, he is dressed in red and yellow jerseys that look even brighter in January’s hot sun, enjoying the game at Mbaraki Stadium in Mombasa.

He occasionally laughs as the banter from home team Bandari FC fans against the visiting team prove too funny to ignore.

As he watches, Chris Mmbwanga Oguso reminisces his playing days in Mombasa where for years he donned the jerseys of local teams among them Black Panther, Nyota FC, Dundee United and Mombasa High school team, which was one of the power houses when it came to secondary school football.

Oguso had that morning been with Sports CS Salim Mvurya at State House Nairobi, where they engaged with President William Ruto on different issues from security to sports, touching on the AFCON 2027 that Kenya is expected to co-host with Uganda and Tanzania.

“Now I am in this jersey, but from here I will head to the airport, put on my suit and fly back to Nairobi, for my other engagements,” he says, painting the picture of a man easily juggling through two jobs he loves dearly — security and football administration.

Oguso, who has a Head of State Commendation bestowed on him by President Ruto on December 12, 2022 for his service to the nation, is a commissioner of police at the National Police Service.

He has invested heavily in football in the country because, he says, football gave him his dream job.

He is now giving back to society.

Apart from being the Sportpesa Premier League side Kenya Police FC and women league side Kenya Police Bullets FC secretary general, he is also the head of security for Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi.

Born on December 25, 1976, in Maringo estate in Nairobi, Oguso loved football from a young age.

He would play in the dirty streets of Maringo often in defiance of warnings from his parents.

“I always wanted to be a policeman. So it is no challenge to me at all to juggle between the two,” he says.

He is grateful to his bosses who understand his love for football and gave him the room to do both.

“This morning, I was at work in Nairobi. I flew in to Mombasa for this game. Now I am heading back to Nairobi for my other work,” he said.

He is the face behind the Chris Oguso Tournament held in Vihiga county annually since 2011.

It is probably Kenya’s oldest annual non-political tournament, with the 16^th edition slated for this year.

“I do this to nurture talent at the grassroots. I am not interested in any political seat.  Many people in Kenya who want to get into politics do so through football. Such political tournaments do not nurture talent,” he says.

The tournament has seen the rise of many different footballers in the country.

At the Kenya Police Bullets FC, there are three players who were spotted through the Chris Oguso Tournament.

Kakamega Homeboys FC has about three players from the Chris Oguso Tournament while other teams like Kenya Police FC and Vihiga United FC also has representation from the famous tourney.

Oguso has almost 30 years in police service, having started as a police constable in 1997 and rose through the ranks through the DCI to become a commissioner of police in 2025.

Between 2010 and 2015, he was sent by the Kenya government to investigate a 2010 terror attack in Kampala, Uganda, as a lead phone analyst.

He had similar assignments in 2013 at the Westgate terror attack in Nairobi, 2015 at the Garissa University terror attack and 2019 at the DusitD2 terror attack in Nairobi.

He was then posted to the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.

“I hang up my boots in playing active football back in 2003 when I was at Nakuru Police FC and that season we had been relegated from the premier league,” Oguso says.

In February 2021, he was appointed the CEO of Police FC, and his leadership qualities saw the team start to rise to become the SPL champions in both men and women categories.

When Police FC joined the premier league in the country, the levels of the game and the facilities were so low, he says.

“There was no transparency and accountability in football and the welfare of the players was not impressive. The leadership in football used to pocket a lot of money meant for the players and facilities,” Oguso said.

Police FC first sought to ensure transparency to give the team a level of professionalism.

Led by chairman Nyale Munga, the team appointed a board which oversaw the executive.

“As an executive, whenever we get any resources, we have to be accountable on how we spend them. There must be someone above us to oversee us. Many teams in Kenya do not have this. The chairman, the team manager, the CEO are everything and make decisions on their own,” Oguso says.

For any amount of money to be withdrawn from the team’s account, the chair, secretary general and the treasurer must append their signatures, he says.

Kenya Police Bullets FC is the first Kenyan women team to give players high salaries, with the lowest paid player taking home Sh50,000 a month. 

Oguso says he advised AFC Leopards chairman Boniface Ambani to ensure the same happens there and the team is now flourishing.

The AFC is now focused on CAF tournaments which he says are lucrative.

Police FC under his leadership has taken part in the CAF tournaments twice now and they have seen the benefits.

“We make our signings focusing on CAF. There is no money in Kenyan football compared to CAF. In CAF tournaments, the first round gives you Sh12 million. The second round earns you another Sh12 million. Reaching the group stage of the CAF tournament earns you Sh50 million,” Oguso says.

Police FC now sets their standards with Tanzanian clubs Simba, Yanga and Azam, who have participated in CAF tournaments regularly.

Oguso says Kenya has talented players but they lack proper facilities to develop them.

“Football pitches are the first to be looked at. Mbaraki stadium was closed for a whole year for renovations but today I have lost two players to injuries because of the playing surface,” Oguso says.

At the Kenya Police Sacco Stadium, the standard of the pitch is so high that the Moroccan national team has already sent a request to use it as their training ground for the AFCON 2027 tournament.

“Why? They trained there during the CHAN tournament and they won,” Oguso says.

Tanzanian side Azam FC, trained at Police Sacco Stadium, as did the Gabon national team and they are all trying to get the stadium as their training ground.

“So, if we want to nurture our players, we must have proper facilities. I watched our match today and I was not very impressed by both teams,” he says.

“I was sitting there and most of the time I was just shaking my head, all because of the playing surface.”

He says contractors must also be put to task to come up with proper CAF standard grounds, not grounds that will be played for a month and collapse.

“Management of football teams must start becoming professional,” Oguso says.