The 22-year-old, who was impressive last season helping Kenya Police FC to win their first ever Kenyan Premier League title, is said to have left camp on Monday ahead of the tournament scheduled to kick off on August 2nd.
His departure from camp comes just a few weeks after FKF Premier League top scorer Moses Shumah and runner-up Emmanuel Osoro left Harambee Stars camp to sign for Zambian Premier League champions Power Dynamos.
Shumah, who scored 17 goals while playing for Kakamega Homeboyz and Osoro, who managed 16 goals, signed two-year permanent deals which automatically ruled them out of the CHAN tournament.
By signing for Dynamos, the duo became ineligible for the CHAN which is reserved for players, who feature for their clubs in respective local leagues.
Bajaber leaves camp for Tanzania
A source within Harambee Stars, who did not want to be named, confirmed exclusively to Flashscore that Bajaber had been allowed to leave camp to sign for a club in the Mainland Tanzania Premier League.
The source further confirmed that Simba SC was the most likely destination for Bajaber, who impressed for Kenya during their friendly matches against Chad in Morocco.
The friendlies played in the last transfer window saw Bajaber produce a superb display in the midfield as Kenya drew the first game 0-0 and followed it up with a 2-1 victory, which was the first and only win under coach McCarthy's reign.
"It is unfortunate that Bajaber will not be part of the Kenya squad for CHAN, he left camp on Monday and is currently in Tanzania negotiating for a deal to sign for Simba," the source, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter, told Flashscore on Monday, July 28th.
"From my understanding, he was given the green light to leave camp by the coach, who does not want to stand in the way of any player seeking to play outside Kenya.
"Bajaber was part of his plans but when the player came up with the deal, he felt that it was good to let him go."
When asked why Bajaber could not have waited for CHAN to conclude before going for the deal or signing a pre-contract with the interested club, the source said: "No club can wait to sign a player with CHAN set to have many scouts, both local and foreign, meaning the value of Bajaber could go up. So, it is better to sign up the player now, instead of waiting for the CHAN to conclude."
Harambee Stars will play their Group A matches at Kasarani Stadium. They have been drawn alongside Morocco, Angola, DR Congo, and Zambia. Kenya will play their opening fixture at 15:00 local time against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
After opening against DR Congo, Kenya’s second fixture will be against Angola on Tuesday, August 7th, before they face Morocco on Sunday, August 10th and wind up their group fixtures against Zambia’s Chipolopolo on Sunday, August 17th.
This will mark Kenya’s debut in the CHAN tournament. While the country last featured in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt, where the team exited at the group stage, this time Harambee Stars will be eager to make a deeper run, especially with the added motivation of playing on home soil.
The tournament will run from August 2 to August 30, 2025, and promises to be a thrilling celebration of local football talent across East Africa.
