Former Thika United attacker Edmond Balla has opened up about his experience with ‘Juju’ against Kenyan giants Gor Mahia and the defunct Chemelil Sugar FC.Balla is the second player in recent times to accuse K’Ogalo of black magic, following accusations made by AFC Leopards goalkeeper Levis Opiyo.##NAJAVA_MECA_8540806##The Kenyan football scene, and indeed African football, has endless tales of black magic, with accusations that players and teams use it to weaken their opponents or competitors. Whether it is true or works remains an ongoing debate.The former Palos striker began by defending Opiyo, who faced backlash from Gor Mahia fans for his revelations in September 2024, before expressing his dislike for the league’s defending champions.“I had another encounter when I moved to Thika United and we played Gor Mahia. It’s our community club from Nyanza, but personally, I don’t like it. When you see Opiyo (AFC Leopards goalkeeper Levis Opiyo) complaining, he was not lying or just giving an excuse; he must have seen it,” Balla said in an interview with The Exit Show.Balla went on to explain his reasons for the accusations. “I intercepted and controlled a ball hit by Shakava (Harun) and just felt my leg and knee shaking, and that’s how I got injured,” he stated.Kenya Sevens learn opponents ahead of Cape Town 7sThe knee injury threatened Balla’s career, keeping him out for over two years as he couldn’t afford surgery.“My football career took a different direction since then. I needed treatment. The cost was Ksh 300,000, but I didn’t have the money, and the club couldn’t pay. I was advised to take a period off football or get surgery, and that’s how I disappeared from the football scene for a while,” he explained.The Kanga High School alumnus revealed that his Gor Mahia experience was his second encounter with black magic after a previous one at Chemelil Sugar.He had joined the Sugar Millers from Kisumu-based Palos FC. He said he enjoyed his time at the club, earning a salary while still a university student with no major responsibilities.Robert Matano on why he turned down Kenya Police jobIt was here that the former KCB striker first encountered ‘Juju,’ which, according to him, was orchestrated by a foreigner. He says that to this day, he does not see eye to eye with foreign players.“I met some Ugandans there who did bad things to me. Since then, I personally don’t allow foreigners to touch my belongings. I have no problem with friends and countrymates, but I don’t entertain foreigners. When they go left, I go right,” he stated.He accused a foreigner who may have handled his personal belongings of causing an unexplained knee complication.“Imagine, I was training on a grass pitch, playing on grass which had been rained on, with Chemelil being a rainy area, but my knees were aching. When the season was almost over, I got a dislocation,” he remarked.Gor Mahia legend Blackberry set for league comebackThe knee injury kept him unsettled at the club, and he opted to return to his previous club, where his issues with the injury ended despite playing and training under harsher conditions.“So I decided to go back to Palos, where I was training and playing on a turf laid over cement at Moi Stadium, Kisumu, but I never had problems with my knees, not even for a single day,” he noted.These events made the coastal-born player question one fundamental thing: “So between playing on cement and on grass, where should one have knee problems?”Balla has since recovered from his injuries and currently plays for National Super League (NSL) side Darajani Gogo, having joined the Kibra-based club from KCB in September 2023.Balla’s current goal is to help his club gain promotion to the FKF Premier League. Gogo’s last match was a 3-2 loss to APS Bomet on Saturday, 30 November. They are currently 9th on the NSL table and will play Mombasa Elite in their next match, set for Saturday, 7 December.Tusker’s Ryan Ogam dedicates hat-trick to parents and girlfriend
