Elijah Lidonde

Elijah Lidonde

Personal information
Date of birth	November 1927
Place of birth	Kakamega, Kenya
Date of death	September 1987 (aged 59)
Position	Forward
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Nakuru
0000–1952	Idakho Location
	North Nyanza
International career
1949–1961	Kenya	26	(33)
Managerial career
	Abaluhya Léopards
1967	Kenya
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Elijah Lidonde is a Kenyan former footballer. He was capped 26 times for the Kenya national football team between 1949 and 1961, scoring 33 goals. ^[1]

Career

Born in November 1927 in Kakamega, Kenya, Lidonde was raised in the village of Sikokho. ^[2] Educated at the Kakamega School, he began working at the Nakuru County Council in 1948, also starting his football career in the city. ^[2] He was first called up to the Kenya national football team for the first time the following year, representing the nation at the Gossage Cup. ^[2] In 1953 he won the Gossage Cup for the first time, scoring a hattrick in the final as Kenya beat Uganda 6–2. ^[2]

He served as a community development assistant at the Jeanes School and in 1952 moved to North Nyanza to work as the district's first sports supervisor. ^[2] Before the move he had played for Idakho Location, and while in North Nyanza he represented the local football team, winning the Remington Cup on a number of occasions. ^[2]

Following his retirement as a player, he served as chairman of the Nairobi Open Soccer League. ^[2] Having helped to form the club in 1964, he was the first coach of Abaluhya Léopards, winning the title in 1966 and 1967 and helping the side to the semi-finals of the 1968 African Cup of Champions Clubs. ^[2] In 1966 he studied football coaching at Loughborough University in England for six months, before returning to Kenya and being named manager of the national team, winning the 1967 East African Challenge Cup. ^[2]

Personal life and death

Lidonde also represented Kenya at shot put, throwing 39 ft 1 inch at an international athletics meeting in Ndola, Zambia. ^[2]

His son, Wellington "Tony" Lidonde, was also a footballer. ^[2] Another son, Armstrong, went on to be a pastor in the United States. ^[3]

Lidonde died in September 1987, following a long-term illness. ^[2]

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Kenya	1950	3	2
	1951	2	2
	1952	2	5
	1953	2	4
	1954	3	3
	1955	2	4
	1956	2	2
	1957	2	3
	1958	3	2
	1959	1	0
	1960	3	6
	1961	1	0
Total		26	33

International goals

Scores and results list Kenya's goal tally first.

No	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	11 October 1950	Nairobi, Kenya	Uganda	?–?	3–1	Gossage Cup
2.				?–?
3.	25 September 1951	Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika		?–?	2–1
4.	29 September 1951		Tanganyika	?–?	2–3
5.	24 September 1952	Kampala, Uganda	Zanzibar	?–?	7–1
6.				?–?
7.				?–?
8.	27 September 1952		Uganda	?–?	3–6
9.				?–?
10.	30 September 1953		Tanganyika	?–?	7–1
11.				?–?
12.	3 October 1953	Nairobi, Kenya	Uganda	?–?	6–2
13.				?–?
14.	5 October 1954		Zanzibar	?–0	5–0
15.				?–0
16.	9 October 1954		Uganda	?–?	2–2
17.	13 October 1955	Dar-es-Salaam, Tanganyika	Zanzibar	?–0	8–0
18.				?–0
19.				?–0
20.				?–0
21.	27 November 1956	Kampala, Uganda	Tanganyika	?–0	9–0
22.				?–0
23.	4 September 1957	Zanzibar City, Zanzibar	Zanzibar	?–?	5–1
24.				?–?
25.				?–?
26.	8 October 1958	Nairobi, Kenya		?–0	4–0
27.				?–0
28.	10 October 1960	Kampala, Uganda		?–?	4–1
29.				?–?
30.	12 October 1960		Tanganyika	?–0	5–0
31.				?–0
32.				?–0
33.	15 October 1960		Uganda	?–?	1–1

References

1. "Elijah Lidonde – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF . Retrieved 28 October 2021.
2. Wepukhulu, Hezekiah (22 September 1987). "Remembering Elijah Lidonde — a soccer legend". Kenya Times . Retrieved 3 January 2026.
3. "From a Village Boy in Ikolomani to a U.S. Pastor: The Remarkable Journey of Armstrong Lidonde". Shahidi TV. 22 February 2025. Retrieved 3 January 2026.