Tanzania Football Federation
Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court has given four Nigerian football players six-month jail sentences after pleading guilty to allegations of illegal stay in the country.
In Kisutu, an administrative ward in the Ilala district of the Dar es Salaam region of Tanzania, Andrew Okoro, 23, and Chiku Odia, 25, appeared before Magistrate Frank Moshi and after pleading guilty they were given the option of paying a fine of 100,000 Shillings or serve a six-month jail term. The duo chose the jail sentence after failing to pay the stated fine.
The other two Chikereke Messaiah, 22, and Onyekwu Daniel, 22, also pleaded guilty of illegal presence in the country. Magistrate Gabriel Mirumbe was left with little choice but to condemn them to a six-month jail sentence after both failed to pay a fine amounting to 50,000 Shillings.
Okoro claims that he came to Tanzania for trials with relegated top-flight side Ashanti United but could not make a breakthrough. He added that his manager, Aishi Shaban, supported him to gain access into the country. Shaban took his passport and $500 before flying to South Africa.
Odia who was a football player with Mwanza-based first division club of Toto Africa said he lost his passport and reported this to the police station only to be advised to check with his embassy for assistance.
Immigration prosecutor Partick Ngayomela stated Odia has been in the country since 2012 and had been playing for Toto Africa but after the team’s relegation he failed to secure another club. Ngayomela also added that Okoro and Messaiah came to Tanzania for trials with Ashanti United, but failed to be recruited, while Onyenkwu came for trials with Coastal Union, but his performance was not successful.