Few stories in Kenyan football feel as familiar yet as urgent as the Kibera Black Stars Coaching Changes announced ahead of the 2025 2026 National Super League season. A club built on resilience is turning the touchline into its next frontier, hoping that renewed ideas can translate into points. The move is a reunion and a reset, a signal that last season’s near miss still fuels the project.
The headline is clear, Kibera Black Stars have overhauled the managerial setup and brought back a trusted face. Former head coach Evans Ogutu has returned to the club, this time as an assistant to Idd Badi, who remains in charge as head coach for the new campaign.
The refresh extends beyond the dugout. Goalkeeper trainer Mike Aggery is back for the upcoming season after earlier threatening to walk away at the end of the last campaign, a decision that stabilizes a crucial department.
Continuity still matters on the rebranded bench. Team manager Kevin Adongo stays on alongside team doctor Seedorf Miheso, kit manager Kevin Odour, and technical director Erick Ouma, a group that underscores the value of institutional knowledge within the technical bench.
There is change in the forward-looking lane of the club’s story. Former Gor Mahia striker Edwin Lavatsa will not be part of the team after two seasons, having stepped aside as he eyes a managerial career elsewhere, a departure that closes one chapter and opens another.
Why the reunion matters
Reunions in football are rarely simple, yet this one is unmistakably purposeful. Three seasons ago, Ogutu came close to guiding the Black Stars into the top flight, and that shared history creates a foundation of familiarity and unfinished business.
The club’s CEO, Eugene Ochieng, framed the decision as a pragmatic step designed to lift competitive levels. Speaking to Mozzart Sport, he affirmed the balance between continuity and fresh input through a clear message.
“Badi is going to be there as the head coach; we just did a little shake-up to add Coach Evans into the side,” Ochieng said.
That clarity matters after a campaign that promised so much but faded late. Kibera began last season brightly and ended the first leg among promotion favorites, only to lose momentum in February and finish sixth with 55 points.
Lessons from a near miss
Last season’s arc is both a caution and a compass. The strong start showed what this group can be at its best, while the midseason dip revealed how fine the margins are in the NSL and how quickly form can slip.
In that context, experience is a resource. Three seasons back, Ogutu nearly delivered Premier League football, and after his departure he claimed internal forces had hampered the push to the FKF Premier League, a reminder of the intersections between sporting goals and club dynamics.
The club insists that bridges have been rebuilt. Ochieng pointed to a different environment from the one that followed that earlier promotion race, and he placed the past in perspective with a candid reflection.
“During that campaign when Shabana earned a promotion, we lacked finances and had to come into the office to help. The coach had his say at the time, and he had to make his comment. Things have changed, and when we approached him, he didn’t think twice; he was ready to help,” Ochieng said.
CASINO BONUS INFO RATING
- See 11 Bonuses
- See 2 Bonuses
- See 7 Bonuses
- See 4 Bonuses
BK 0000761, PG 0000461
Managing change without losing identity
Change has not been limited to the technical area. Since the end of last season, the club parted ways with chairman Mwanjuma Mwakuluma and saw almost 15 players leave, shifts that could unsettle any dressing room.
The front office counters that the rebuild is controlled rather than chaotic. Ochieng highlighted planning, scouting, and a measured preseason pathway as evidence that the reset is organized and grounded.
“The technical bench has planned itself, they’ve done enough scouting, and we believe everything will be good. We are doing well in pre-season. The players who left wanted to move on, and we respected their wishes. We have replaced them with the players we wanted, and we will be starting preseason on Tuesday,” he concluded.
There is also the power of place. Known as Ya Mama in the Kibra slums of Nairobi, Kibera Black Stars carry a community identity that stretches beyond results, and that identity often translates into a competitive edge built on grit and togetherness.
The balance between head coach and returning assistant
In practical terms, the most intriguing football question sits on the touchline. Head coach Idd Badi remains the final voice, while Ogutu returns with a history of near promotion and an understanding of the club’s rhythms.
That balance can be powerful if the roles are clean and the collaboration is genuine. The right assistant does not dilute authority, it amplifies it, and a shared tactical language can turn close games into winning margins.
The surrounding staff will shape that collaboration. Team manager Kevin Adongo and technical director Erick Ouma provide operational and strategic continuity, while medical and equipment support through Seedorf Miheso and Kevin Odour keep the daily engine humming, the kind of detail work that sustains a long NSL season.
The goalkeeper room and the importance of quiet stability
Defensive platforms often start with the person wearing the gloves. The return of Aggery to the goalkeeper department suggests a commitment to retaining trusted methods, a subtle but significant choice for a team with promotion ambitions.
Goalkeeping coaches straddle technique and temperament. Familiar voices can settle young backlines, and incremental gains in positioning, command, and decision making often buy the extra point that separates sixth from the top slots.
What the Lavatsa exit says about the project
Lavatsa’s decision to step aside after two seasons, as he eyes a managerial career elsewhere, speaks to the fluid nature of opportunity in Kenyan football. For the club, it is an invitation to reimagine leadership profiles in the dressing room and on the training ground.
Transitions like this are rarely about one player alone. They ripple into combinations, set piece routines, and voices in the huddle, and the staff’s confidence in their scouting suggests they have mapped replacements with precision.
A tenth campaign and an old ambition
Kibera Black Stars enter their tenth campaign in the second tier as one of its longest-serving sides, a symbol of persistence and a cautionary tale about how hard it is to break through. The club has been close before and knows both the taste of momentum and the sting of February fades.
This longevity cuts two ways. It provides a library of lessons and a fan base that understands the grind, but it also builds pressure to convert experience into a sustained push that lasts deep into the run-in.
How the new season can be different
If the club’s narrative is to change, it will be the product of accumulation rather than a single pivot. A stronger finish, a couple of extra draws turned into wins, and a deeper bench of trusted contributors can move the needle in a demanding NSL landscape.
The technical shake-up was framed exactly for that purpose. A reinforced bench, a returning assistant with club memory, and the anchoring presence of a head coach who has already guided the ship, these are the ingredients Kibera hopes can tighten the margins that mattered last time.
There is no promise in football beyond effort and adaptation. Yet there is a distinct sense that Kibera have chosen stability wrapped in change, a nuance that recognizes the value of relationships without ignoring the need for fresh energy.
Voices that set the tone
Ochieng’s remarks outline a club comfortable with hard truths and incremental progress. Financial constraints once intruded, internal friction once frayed ambition, but the door has been reopened and the conversation with Ogutu suggests mutual trust has been restored.
That tone threads through the wider staff. The blend of retained roles and targeted returns sends a message that this is not change for its own sake, it is a plan to reconnect past promise with present opportunity.
