I remember my time in Pakistan when I went out buying stuff and they asked me "where are you from?" on answering "Kenya" their faces lit up and said "Odumbe!!" I laughed .... my wife was clueless to who Odumbe was.

'I returned, and saw under the sun, that the
race is not to the swift, nor the battle to
the strong, neither yet bread to the wise,
nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor
yet favour to men of skill; but time and
chance happeneth to them all.'

Is Odumbe's life over? Are there limits to our opinion about him?

What about me, am I in a better situation? I can only see that to be in a better situation - a kind of 'autarchy'- is to discipline my mind and reconcile the body with the soul. And I recommend it to Odumbe to do the same.

Where are the likes of Tikolo,Kamande, etc, those who played with him then?. Oh, i forgot in kenya people love you when you have cash and curse you when you are broke. I became orphaned in my early formative years. Nobody from my family wanted anything to do with me. I did not have grandparents, neither did i have siblings.What sustained me in school were my good results. In my 12 years in school, i can count the number of times i took breakfast. I would visit relatives at least to get something to eat and they would tell me in my face,that they had not planned for me in their meals. However,ever since i got myself a place in a top uni in Europe,relatives started communicating more often. Friends of my parents again remembered me. They disturb me often with donation for this and that. We Kenyans, we are a bunch of hypocrites. I empathise with Odumbe.

So...what is the government supposed to do...put him on a monthky stipend?

It is worth noting that the bookmaker he was accused of associating with has never been convicted for being a bookmaker, which is a criminal offence in India. The guy is still a respected movie producer in India.

CRICKET was Odumbe's life. I know many 35 year olds who, if they lose their jobs, they will be completely ruined....yet they can still do many other things.ultimately break down.He was 35, at the prime of his cricketing, and was forecasting to make millions for at least another five years (cricketers generally retire past forty). He probably had no real savings at that time,you can postpone saving for a few months or even years which is normal, when you are in a high earning position But he was banned from all cricketing activities, and cricket was his life, so he could make no money for five years. Even the strongest among us would An injustice was committed to this man, and everyone just keeps condemning him. If I were him, I would sue the ICC and the then Kenya Cricket Association from wrongful suspension.

"Eight prosecution witnesses, including Odumbe's former wife Katherine Maloney and two former girlfriends Caitlan Patterson and Katja Nilsson, testified against him."

Odumbe "In my case, the ICC approached my ex who had a bone to pick with me because we were no longer together. It is strange that these women, when they are with stars and enjoying the fame of dating a famous man, do not say anything. But the minute the relationship is over, they start making all sorts of allegations."


Anyway, he messed up and was punished for it mambo ya sijui he didn't do what is water under the bridge now.....hata jela kuna so many innocent people.

The problem with you @alma is that sometimes you become so emotional about issues that it becomes difficult to discuss matters with you objectively.

Yes Maurice was your friend and was a generous generous man. And yes, he and his team also made me start watching cricket. I am not rejoicing about his situation. Far from it. I watched his interview last night and was greatly moved with sympathy. Its rare to see a man shed tears on national TV. Yes he is in a terrible situation especially considering "where he has fallen from".

But all I did was to cite the facts of this case, which boil down to match fixing, and quoted reputable sources such as BBC and ESPN which you are now dismissing as gutter press. My aim was for us to interrogate the facts and enable us to discuss the case objectively. That was before you had the emotional breakdown.

Fact is that Maurice was a great player and rose to unimaginable heights. He also had his whole future ahead of him. But his greed led to his destruction. And now everyone wants to blame everybody else except him. Yes he messed up his life. Things could have been much better had he stuck to the narrow path. And this should be a lesson to each one of us.

As I said earlier, make hay while the sun shines. For sportsmen this is very critical since they have a small window of opportunity when they are at the peak of their careers. The millions do not flow in forever, therefore use the money wisely and invest to prepare for the future when you will no longer be in the headlines, and also to protect you from any shocks that may occur and end your career prematurely eg. injuries, bans etc.

So what's the way forward? The guy needs to get into rehab asap. It was encouraging to hear him say that he had checked himself into rehab not long ago after he realized that he had an alcohol and drug problem. However he looks like he still has a problem. No. 2 would be to help him get on his feet again which could be via assistance from well wishers. No3 would be for us to sit back and pray that he successfully rebuilds his life.

please jaggernaut edit your facts so that we can discuss with facts.

Where exactly did you see Odumbe was guilty of match fixing? Please be very specific before you continue on the path of ruining the reputation of a man.

This is one sad story which even if You sit with any of His cricket teammates they will never open up. Grapevine is that Maurice was not the only one fixing matches , some of His team mates were also involved but never caught . Cricket was His life and when that was taken away from Him , he went down . But I recall that even after Him being banned , He lived lavishly for sometime before the coffers went dry. No one in the cricket world wants to touch Him and that is what pains Him.