Former Kenyan Premier League champions Kenya Police are reportedly set to hand their coaching job to French tactician Raphael Pilato, less than a week after head coach Nicholas Muyoti and his assistant John Baraza left the club.

Mozzart Sport reported on Tuesday, 27 October, that Pilato has emerged as the leading candidate to take over the technical bench. The club has not announced an appointment, and interim coach Anthony Akhulia, who has been in charge since Muyoti's departure, is expected to return to his role as an assistant once a new head coach is in place.

Who is Pilato?

According to the report, Pilato holds a UEFA Pro Licence, the highest coaching qualification in European football. He has previously coached Gabonese club FC 105 Libreville and had a spell with Belgian side KVW Zaventem.

He is said to favour a 3-5-2 system built on three centre-backs, possession-based football, quick transitions into attack and aggressive pressing to win the ball back when it is lost.

How Muyoti and Baraza left

Kenya Police announced the departure of Muyoti and Baraza on Wednesday, 21 October, two matches into the 2026/27 season. In a statement reported by Citizen Digital, Nation and The Star, the club said the pair had asked to pursue CAF A coaching qualifications, and that it had agreed.

"The club consented to their requests, acknowledging their diligence, commitment, professionalism and work ethic," the statement said, according to Citizen Digital. The club noted that both coaches hold CAF B licences and suggested the rules may soon tighten. "Coaching dynamics are shifting, and soon we may see a requirement for only CAF A-licensed coaches," it said.

The exit followed a 1-1 draw with newly promoted Migori Youth in the season opener and a 2-1 defeat to AFC Leopards. Several outlets described the move as a sacking, and Mozzart Sport has reported that Muyoti disputes the club's account that the parting was mutual.

Under Akhulia, Police have since been held to a goalless draw by Mombasa United, leaving them without a win from their first three league matches.

A familiar revolving door

Muyoti joined Police in January 2026 as an assistant before being promoted to head coach. Last season he guided the team to a third-place finish with 55 points and to the final of the Mozzart Bet Cup, where they lost to Tusker. The club won the league title in the 2024/25 season.

The change continues a pattern of frequent coaching turnover at the club since its promotion to the top flight in 2021, a trend Nation has highlighted in its coverage of short-lived coaching tenures across Kenyan football.

If Pilato is confirmed, he will join Ghanaian Charles Akonnor at Gor Mahia and Frenchman Julien Mette at Tusker among foreign coaches in the league. Police will hope a new voice can quickly lift a squad that was expected to challenge for the title this season.

Photos: Mozzart Sport / The Star