The front page photo on Wednesday’s Daily Nation , capturing baton-wielding youths running to face off with anti-government protesters the day before, touched a raw nerve in Robert Okoth.
It was because he recognised two of the young men, who are twins. They used to play under his soccer academy in Nairobi’s Eastlands.
That same day, he made a post on social media site X, saying they had dropped from the academy after being locked out of a training ground.
“A local MCA shut us out of a public training ground. Lost the kids. The streets got them. This is what happens when politics kills dreams,” read part of his post, which drew a great deal of attention on the social network.
With that, we searched for Mr Okoth, a former Kenya Premier League player who is now the CEO of top-flight side Sofapaka, to explain further.
We also reached out to the inferred Member of County Assembly (MCA) – Mr Robert Mbatia, the Kariobangi South Ward Representative.
What came up is a tale of political interests spilling over to public playgrounds and also a case study in the consequences of having energetic and athletic youth unoccupied.
Mr Okoth said he interacted with the youngsters from a very young age, when they started off as ball boys.
“When they were still going to school, probably four years, they could pass by outside my gate,” he told the Nation .
“We used to train at a place called Jerusalem Estate,” he said, referring to a playground in the area called the Uhuru Sports Complex.
“That’s where the team was initially formed in Eastlands. That’s where the team has been based for the past six years but right now, we have moved to Eastleigh High School because we couldn’t have access to public playing space that apparently we were denied due to maybe different details,” he noted.
Sofapaka CEO and former Kenya Premier League football player.
Photo credit: Pool
Added Mr Okoth: “They are very talented young people, and that’s why it’s quite disappointing to see them on the front page of the newspaper. These are boys who were really, extremely talented; they are very good at football, but you ask yourself: How did it go wrong? Where did everything go wrong? But again, you remember at some point they couldn’t access any proper training ground and they stopped playing football and then one thing led to another.”
The playground in question was recently refurbished, with an artificial turf being placed on the football pitch. The official launch, attended by Governor Johnson Sakaja, happened in March 2024.
After the launch, Mr Okoth said, there was a disagreement between Arrow Sports Soccer Academy, which he runs, with the team that is managing the field. They had been using the pitch for some time, even before refurbishment, he added.
“We were being told that we should start paying for it. Why? Is it because we looked more presentable, players had uniforms, playing boots, shoes, we had some of the best equipment, we had enough footballs to use, cones and everything? In someone’s mind, this team probably had donors somewhere,” said Mr Okoth.
However, giving his side of the story, the area MCA said that one of the rules for using the facility is that if the academy charges parents, then it should pay to use the premises.
“There are many academies that use the facility and pay, and others that don’t pay because they don’t charge for their services. When the parents informed us that they were being charged [by Mr Okoth], he was instructed [to pay] and that’s when he started insulting the board members left, right and centre,” said Mr Mbatia.
“He was totally stopped because we thought if someone with such a character is handling our children, what values is he instilling into the children?” posed the MCA.
Mr Okoth admitted having clashed with Mr Mbatia and telling him that the pitch was built using taxpayers’ money, which worsened the situation.
“We were told we can’t access it anymore because we’ve disrespected those who are in charge; we’ve disrespected the big man and we were told now we can’t access it anymore. But I told them, ‘It’s not my problem that you’re trying to create; it’s about these kids who really depend on this team. They are the ones who will be affected,” said Mr Okoth.
The MCA noted: “He was even ready to pay but we couldn’t allow such a person with questionable conduct to handle our children.”
Pro-Government protesters running after people who were participating in protests in Nairobi on June 17, 2025.
Photo credit: Evans Habil| Nation Media Group
“You know, there’s just something always special with twins,” Mr Okoth said, recalling the famous Mulama twins who played for Harambee Stars. “Maybe the talent is not lost because, according to me, they’re still young. They still have the time to probably [turn things around],” he said.
“It was quite sad to see them end up that way, but again, do we blame a broken system or where do we shift the blame?” posed Mr Okoth, who was a Sofapaka striker when he retired from football.
“Sometimes it’s all about just the company that most teenagers keep. I think in the company, once you get yourself involved with the wrong people, maybe you start doing things differently, start maybe seeing life differently or maybe in a negative way and probably that attributes or maybe impacts your future decisions,” he added.
Goons on Moi Avenue in Nairobi on June 17, 2025 during protests following the death of Kenyan blogger Albert Ojwang.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
According to the MCA, it is inconceivable that simple denial of training grounds could make the youths stray.
“Honestly, a change of training venue can’t make people go to the streets, it’s what values they are instilled in them that make them who they are,” said Mr Mbatia.
From Mr Okoth’s post, comments made brought up the issue of the state of public playgrounds, with some observers speaking of spots that had been grabbed.
One commenter said: “It’s going to get worse with the continued grabbing of public spaces within Nairobi estates.”
Goons on motorbikes pour into Nairobi CBD
Said Mr Okoth: “I believe when a facility is easily accessible to each and every one, again it’s very easy to keep many of these kids engaged and maybe impact the whole community because it takes a whole community to as a child.”
“A lot of politics happens when it comes to accessing such public playing places that have been built by the county government because that is not personal property; it should be a property for the whole community. But you know, you find that the people who are managing it manage it differently.
“Of course there’s a channel of communication, [but] I don’t expect teams to be denied spaces simply because they think differently or maybe they have a different opinion. So, most of the time, what happens is that only teams within that place are allowed to use it, or are allowed to access it for free. If you’re a team from a different place, you’ll have to pay for it,” added Mr Okoth.
