Kenyan football is full of drama. This dates back to the glory days of legend Joe Kadenge and his teammates. One interesting scene in Kenyan football is captured in, Joe Kadenge: The Life of a Football Legend, a biography by John Nene. On this occasion, a prisoner played for Harambee Stars.
The man in question is the late Daniel Nicodemus Arudhi. He was a great footballer as well as a wanted man off the pitch. He was among the great Kenyan squad that made it to the maiden 1972 African Cup of Nations.
Arudhi was capped 39 times for the national team and he netted 18 times. His footballing career in the national team from September 1963 to November 1972 was worth emulating despite the ugly off pitch hustle.
The biography notes that once Arudhi had to get a temporal release from Kamiti Maximum Prison to represent the nation at City Stadium.
Among those who came to cheer his talent were prison wardens who believed he could vanish. After the game, he was taken back to prison.
Unfortunately, 16 years after that memorable game, he was gunned down in Shauri Moyo. He had been released but because football did not pay then, he continued with his dark business.
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