Daniel Adongo: Who is the troubled Kenyan star deported by US govt after impressive NFL career
By Luke Oluoch, July 26, 2026The sudden deportation of Daniel Ogama Adongo has taken Kenyans by shock. From the glory of making moves in American soccer sports: from the National Football League (NFL), to one controversy after another, Daniel Adongo’s life had it all before his disgraceful and forceful discharge from America.
Born in 1989 in Nairobi, Adongo first made a name for himself on the dusty rugby pitches across East Africa.
Rugby roots
Adongo grew up playing rugby in Nairobi, commanding an imposing and fearless acclaim in contact sports, he quickly stood out as a flanker and number 8. He earned caps for the Kenya 15s team, the Simbas, and became a regular on the Kenya Sevens circuit.
His speed and stature of about 6’4″, and raw power made him one of the most talked-about forwards in African rugby in the early 2010s. By 2012, he was starring for the Kenya Sevens team on the World Rugby Sevens Series, leveraging his physique and runs to terrorise opponents.
The leap to the USA and NFL history
In 2013 Adongo got an opportunity that almost no Kenyan athlete had received before: a shot at the NFL. He was invited to the NFL’s International Player Pathway program after impressing scouts at a combine in London. The Indianapolis Colts signed him as a linebacker.
Adongo had never played American football before. but was fast on the transition, learning the ropes and adapting fast to the formation and the technical demands of the sport
American dream
He spent the 2013 season on the Colts practice squad, and in 2014 he appeared in 3 regular-season games, becoming the first Kenyan to play in an NFL game.
Back home he embodied the fulfillment of the American Dream, and as hailed as a symbol of what was possible, rugby player from Kenya making it to the biggest league in American sport.
After Indianapolis, Adongo had brief stints with the New England Patriots practice squad and the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL. The dream was alive, but injuries and the challenge of mastering a new sport made it hard to stick.
Fall and deportation
In the recent years, Adongo’s time in the U.S. took a dark turn as his troubled stint in the USA escalated. He was arrested in Indiana and later pleaded guilty to felony battery.
According to a statement from the US Homeland Security, the disgraced athlete also had instances of criminal records and a litany of disorderly conduct on his back. He also faced multiple arrests, including a criminal mischief conviction that resulted in a one-year jail sentence, according to ICE.
The case involved an altercation that left him facing jail time. After serving his sentence, U.S. immigration authorities moved to deport him because of the conviction.
Having been convicted a while back, an immigration judge ordered his removal from the country in March, 2026, leading to the execution of the orders in the month of July, 2026.
The feat sealed a heartbreaking end to a cherished life abroad that was once hailed as trailblazing back in Kenya and East Africa, as it continued the worrying trend of downfall that plagues some of Africa’s best and most talented sportsmen, especially after ending their careers