The late Kenyan football legend, Joe Kadenge, once shocked the nation with his announcement to never play for the national team again.
This happened in 1965 after a tough tournament in Sudan. He never bothered to explain to anyone his move and people only came to know the reason behind his vow almost 50 years later when his autobiography book was launched in 2015.
In his book, Joe Kadenge: The life of a Football Legend, he narrated why he made such a tough decision.
"He was annoyed with the behaviour portrayed by his football mates in a tournament hosted by Sudan in 1965. One of his teammates had stolen a 007 underpants of his colleague. He was so upset. He could not stomach that. He said he also saw colleagues stealing bed sheets," BBC journalist John Nene who authored Kadenge’s autobiography explained that as the reason the legend made that decision.
Kadenge is remembered as a great man of integrity and such small acts of blatant theft and indiscipline hit him to the core.
The fallen star was often fondly termed as the "Pele" of Brazil and "Maradona" of Argentina owing to his perfect sleek moves that always left his opponents wallowing in doubt of where the ball would be in the next second.
One of his most noticeable memories is during the 1958 match between Kenya and Uganda where he dribbled the ball past all Ugandan players including the defenders and scored at City Stadium.
In as much as he made this controversial decision to quit the national team, the football star continued playing for Harambee Stars.
Kadenge, 84, died at Meridian Hospital in Nairobi West where he had been taken to seek medical attention.
It is reported that he had a relapse of the stroke early in the morning at his home in Mariakani estate, Nairobi, which made his family rush him to hospital.
He died at 11am. His body was later moved to the Lee Funeral Home.
