 During the 2017–18 season the team fired its head coach Wubetu Abate, his assistant Zelalem Shiferaw served as interim coach until the end of the season.Ghanaian defender Lawrence Lartey joined Hawassa Kenema SC on a one-year contract in October 2017.In November 2016, at beginning of the 2016–17 season, goalkeeper Kibreab Dawit along with his two children died due to an accident at his home in Hawassa.