An afternoon of colour as Leopards roar at a full Nyayo Stadium
AFC Leopards fans cheer their team during the Mashemeji derby at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on December 7, 2025.
What you need to know:
- There was noise everywhere with drumbeats, jingles, vuvuzelas, and whistles adding to cacophony of chanting and roaring fans.
- The Ultras group of both teams, Gor Mahia’s Ultras Green and AFC Leopards’ Ultras 1964, competed to make their presence felt.
The Nyayo National Stadium was filled beyond its capacity on Sunday as Gor Mahia hosted AFC Leopards in the 98th Mashemeji derby league meeting, a contest which saw “Ingwe” claiming a 1-0 victory.
Despite Sports Kenya, the managers of Nyayo National Stadium, having insisted that the match venue be filled to 80 per cent of its capacity, representing 18,000 spectators, there was no empty seat at the stadium.
Stairways and other areas designated for movement were filled by sitting or standing fans. Functional structures designed for crowd control like rails also bore the weight of sitting fans.
The green-blue divide in the stadium was clear as day and night. The fans displayed banners and waved flags which advertised their branch or fan group. There was noise everywhere with drumbeats, jingles, vuvuzelas, and whistles adding to cacophony of chanting and roaring fans.
Gor Mahia fans party on the streets of Nairobi as they head to Nyayo National Stadium for the Mashemeji derby on December 7, 2025.
The Ultras group of both teams, Gor Mahia’s Ultras Green and AFC Leopards’ Ultras 1964, competed to make their presence felt. Ultras Green, standing behind a giant tifo of Raila Odinga, went first, waving smoke bombs that emitted a cloud of green and white smoke into the air shortly before kick-off.
They accompanied the spectacle by setting off fireworks as Ultras 1964 played the disciplined guest.
Ultras 1964 came out of their shell in the 57th minute, releasing a heavy cloud of blue and white smoke as they lit red flares behind the mist.
Gor Mahia fans had started the match as they always do -- raising clenched fists in passionate singing of their club anthem. The chant was followed by a fervent prayer for victory, uttered into the microphone by ‘Jaro Soja, the self-styled K’Ogalo’s number one fan.
It was not just Jaro Soja who used the microphone. Musicians Musa Jakadala and Harry Richie had their turns with it to entertain the crowd with their famous hits.
Musician Musa Jakadala performs before the Mashemeji derby between Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on December 7, 2025.
The stadium announcer used it to deliver the day’s only stand-up comedy performance, introducing former AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda as one of the Gor Mahia legends the club was honouring on the day together with Tobais Ocholla.
Yet, it was AFC Leopards who ended the day making the loudest the noise. The derby was being played in December for the second time in its history and for as many times, Ingwe claimed the bragging rights.
AFC Leopards showed a desire to be the first to do everything. They were the first to arrive at the stadium, almost an hour before Gor Mahia. They were the first to enter the pitch for warm-ups.
They did not kick-off the match but they were the first to score. Julius Masaba tapped a rebound into the net, throwing AFC Leopards into delirium and chants of “Ingwe”.
AFC Leopards fans cheer their team during the Mashemeji derby at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on December 7, 2025.
When referee Peter Kamaku blew for the halftime, AFC Leopards players were the first to rush to the dressing room.
They came out for the second half and found Gor Mahia on the pitch but the urgency by their opponents had come too late, the result did not change.
Three-match winless streak
AFC Leopards held on for their first derby win since 2023.
“We just wanted to get going. We have been having issues with lateness and it was affecting. Today, we purposed to be on time and do everything first so that it puts us in a good mental state. Arriving to the stadium early helped our players to soak in the atmosphere,” said AFC Leopards coach Fred Ambani.
AFC Leopards coach Fred Ambani during the Mashemeji derby at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on December 7, 2025.
Ambani never lost in the Mashemeji as a player and remains unbeaten in the fixture as a coach.
The coach answered questions at the press conference while shuffling a small blue notebook, giving a vivid expression of the pressure he had been under going into the fixture.
The victory saw his team end a three-match winless streak and perhaps silence critics among the club’s fanbase who had called for his sacking.
The goal scorer, Masaba, described the feeling of scoring in the derby as “unbelievable.”
He celebrated his goal with a passionate release of pent up energy. He jumped, pumped his fists, kicked a ball to AFC Leopards, and ran towards them to soak in their adulation.
“I was just happy to score my first goal this season. I was perplexed,” said Masaba, who seems a man of few words and big goals.
On Gor Mahia's bench Ghanaian Charles Akonnor was taking charge of his first derby. He had stepped out of the tunnel for the match dressed in a black suit and black tie, in every way showing that he meant business.
Before the match started Akonnor wrapped his suit around his seat, perhaps having relented to the scorching sun. At the press conference, he appeared a worked up man.
A Gor Mahia fan cheers the team during the Mashemeji derby at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on December 7, 2025.
His shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, the tie nowhere to be seen. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, advertising his team’s futile attempt to manage a comeback.
Still, he spoke candidly.
He described the atmosphere as “charged” and criticised the officiating.
“Some decisions did not go our way,” he complained.
Akonnor also blamed his players for lacking “aggression.”
His defender, Mike Kibwage, gave credit to the opponents for playing well adding that the only thing left for him and his teammates is to pick themselves up and move on.
