Odumbe 'dishonest and devious' says judge
A report in The Standard claims that the five-year ban handed down to Maurice Odumbe was recommended by presiding adjudicator Ahmed Ebrahim and not, as first thought, by the Kenyan Cricket Association
Cricinfo staff
06-Dec-2004
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Odumbe was banned following a hearing in July which found him guilty of associating with known bookmakers. At the time it was widely reported that the KCA had pressed for the punishment. But The Standard published Ebrahim's confidential report.
"Far from shouldering this responsibility [ as Kenya's captain], Odumbe has shown himself to be dishonest and devious in his behaviour in relation to the game of cricket," Ebrahim said in his findings. "He has been callous and greedy in the way he has conducted himself. There is no suggestion that he was in desperate straits and in dire need of money because of some serious difficulty which may have befallen him.
"Odumbe has exhibited no remorse. He has not indicated any intention to mend his ways. Instead, he has chosen to cast doubts on the honesty and integrity of people who have despaired of his behaviour. The penalty provided for his `illegal' conduct in terms of the ICC Code of Conduct is a minimum ban of two years or a maximum of a life ban.
"He has not been found guilty of `match-fixing' but, as I have indicated, his conduct was outrageously reprehensible," concluded Ebrahim. "In my view, a five-year ban would meet the justice of the case and I so recommend."
The ramifications of the evidence given by Katherine Maloney, Odumbe's estranged wife, continue. It was her testimony which proved so damning to Odumbe, and which resulted in ICC Anti-Corruption officials again visiting Nairobi last week as part of an ongoing investigation.