The former Kakamega Homeboyz star has returned home to sign for K'Ogalo ahead of their league and Caf assignments
Kenya international Harun Shakava has returned to sign for champions Gor Mahia.
The towering defender has joined K’Ogalo on a two-year contract, just four days after he parted ways with Nkana FC of Zambia.
Gor Mahia secretary-general Steve Ochola has confirmed to Goal they have moved to sign the defender on request from the team’s technical bench, who has been complaining about their leaking defence.
“We have finished the deal with Harun [Shakava] and he is now our player again,” Ochola told Goal on Tuesday. “We have handed him a two-year deal and we are happy to have him in the squad again.
“We hope his experience will help the team do well in the FKF Premier League and also in the Caf Confederation Cup, where we want to go past the group stage.”
Ochola further said they are happy the player will be eligible to feature in Confederation Cup hence the decision to re-sign him.
“He is eligible to play for us in the Confederation Cup and it is another reason why we felt he can be of help to us, we want to use his experience at the backline which has not been performing well in recent matches,” Ochola continued.
Shakava left Gor Mahia in 2019 to sign for Nkana but the two parted ways, with the club confirming: “The aforementioned player [Harun Shakava] has been released by Nkana Football Club unconditionally and declares Harun Shakava as a free agent,” Nkana confirmed in a statement obtained by Goal.
“We wish to confirm Nkana Football Club have no outstanding contract engagement with the player and he is free to look for a club of his choice.”
In a recent interview, a source within the club confirmed to Goal new coach Carlos Manuel Vaz Pinto had recommended Gor Mahia to work on their defensive area because they have been conceding easy goals in the league and the Caf competitions.
“The new coach is very concerned with the defensive abilities of some of the players in Gor Mahia squad and he now wants to work on it, he has already outlined some of the areas the team needs to work on and he kept mentioning the defensive line,” the source told Goal.
Shakava becomes the second signing for the club after they unveiled Brazilian Wilson Silva Fonseca five days ago.
After losing to Vihiga United 1-0 at Kasarani, Gor Mahia have recovered to win two matches in a row – 3-0 against Zoo FC and 3-1 against Bandari.
K’Ogalo are also taking part in the Caf Confederation Cup and this is after they performed dismally in the Champions League, where they lost 8-1 on aggregate to Algerian side CR Belouizdad.
Gor Mahia have now been lined up to face Napsa Stars of Zambia in the playoffs of the Confederation Cup, with the first meeting planned for Kenya on February 14 and the return fixture a week later in Lusaka.