“I lived pretty close to the dump (site), walking distance, three minutes. So it was really, really close. And the stench, it’s unbearable. We just played football next to it. We used plastic bags from the garbage to make a football,” he recalls.
“A lot of families live with less than a dollar a day. So the only thing was football or crime. I got lucky because I stuck to football.”
Omollo was one of Kenya’s standout players at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
He scored a goal, via a well-timed header, during Kenya’s 3-2 win over Tanzania in his team’s second match of the tournament in Alexandria.
They’re six points off safety, having played one game more than 17th-placed Genclerbirligi.
Earlier on Wednesday, Erzurumspor also announced the signing of Morocco international and ex-West Ham United defender Manuel da Costa.
Omolo signed a new contract with Cercle Brugge in August, seemingly putting to an end speculation about his future.
He had run down his contract with the Flemish club earlier in the summer, and had held off renewing before finally putting pen to paper five months ago.
However, despite agreeing terms until the end of this season, Omolo has moved on earlier than planned.
The midfielder amassed over 60 appearances for the Belgian side over the last three and a half seasons, and was influential as Cercle were promoted to the Jupiler League from the second tier in 2018.