Manzur Okwaro: Harambee Stars Utility Man’s Lack of Minutes at Nairobi United Raises Concerns

Manzur Okwaro. Photo: FKF Media

Manzur Okwaro: Harambee Stars Utility Man’s Lack of Minutes at Nairobi United Raises Concerns

Joel Omotto 15:09 - 07.11.2025

Manzur Okwaro may be one of Benni McCarthy’s go-to men in the Harambee Stars squad but his lack of game time at club level has raised eyebrows.

Harambee Stars utility man Manzur Okwaro made a surprise move to Nairobi United at a time when he was expected to move abroad.

Okwaro was one of the standout performers for Kenya at the 2024 African Nations Championships (CHAN 2024) and he was widely tipped to join paid ranks overseas.

However, he moved to newly-promoted Nairobi United, becoming one of their marquee signings, and was set to give them a massive lift.

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A defender by trade, who has since been turned into a good defensive midfielder, the former Kenya U20 star was set to slot in straight into coach Nicholas Muyoi’s team and hit the ground running.

However, that has not been the case, raising concerns over what is behind his limited game time at club level.

Okwaro’s Still Waiting for First Start at Naibois

Since joining Naibois in August, the 19-year-old is yet to start a match and even claims of an injury in his early days at the club seemed to be wide off the mark as he has been involved in Harambee Stars’ matches in the September and October international windows and was among those called up for matches against Equatorial Guinea and Senegal this month before being ruled out late.

It therefore leaves more questions than answers over what has led to the underutilisation of the highly-talented player at a time when his club has major league and continental commitments.

Naibois went through a tough CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round phase, when they overcame Ugandan side NEC FC and Tunisian giants Etoile du Sahel to make it to the group stages, but Okwaro was not among the starters.

Muyoti’s team has since played five league matches but the utility man has still struggled to get into the matchday squad and it remains to be seen if he will feature against Kariobangi Sharks on Saturday.