Even as the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) condemns the chaos witnessed during Sunday’s SportPesa League match between Nairobi United and Gor Mahia at Dandora Stadium in Nairobi, several fans have faulted the federation for allowing the contest to be staged at the venue despite earlier fears of crowd trouble.
The unrest, which forced the abandonment of the high-stakes match in the 58th minute with the teams tied 1-1, has raised questions about whether FKF learned from last season’s chaos during the league match between Gor Mahia and Shabana at Gusii Stadium in Kisii.
As was the case ahead of the encounter between Gor and Shabana last season, there were fears on Sunday that the contest between Gor and Nairobi United, nick-named “Naibois” would be marred by chaos due to the rivalry between the two sets of fans, and the limited capacity of Dandora Stadium.
While Gor were seeking to avenge their painful 2-1 loss to Nairobi in the final of last season’s Mozzart Bet Cup and extend their lead in the standings, Naibois were out to get one more victory over K’Ogalo.
“They want revenge. We want dominance,” was the message that Nairobi United pushed on social media ahead of the match.
Yet despite all the ominous signs, including a fiery exchange between the two sets of fans on social media, the FKF Leagues and Competition Committee allowed the match to be staged at the 5,000-seater stadium.
“FKF told us to host the match at Dandora Stadium. They said Gor had agreed to play at Dandora and because we did not want a backlog of our matches, we told them it is fine,” Nairobi United Chief Executive Officer Nelson Odaya told Nation Sport on Monday.
Odaya said they had wanted to host the match at either Nyayo National Stadium or at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, but both venues were booked for music concerts.
For Ulinzi Sport Complex, Odaya said it was not an option since Gor are banned from the venue following previous acts of violence and vandalism.
In a statement issued on Sunday condemning the chaos, FKF said: “…Such conduct is unacceptable and has no place in Kenyan football.”
It added: “The matter has been formally referred to FKF’s judicial bodies for determination, and all club officials have been directed to record statements to aid the disciplinary process. In parallel, criminal investigations by relevant au-thorities are expected to take their course.”
“Who approved Dandora Stadium? Was it not clear before the game that this is a high profile match?Naibois with their “affordable fans” and Gor with their fans. You have no foresight worse than Mwendwa regime,” Sundiata Mwaura on Facebook.
“FKF ndio wakubeba msalaba yote (FKF are the ones to carry the cross) Dandora is not a good place,” said Evans WaGod on the same platform.
“Dandora Stadium shouldn’t host any league match. I went there once, siwezi rudi tena (I cannot go back again). Security of the fans must be a priority,” @oyimbabrian posted on X.
Sunday’s chaos started after Ovella Ochieng equalised for Nairobi United in the 58th minute of the match. Gor had taken the lead in the 15th minute through Ebenezer Adu-Kwaw.
During the celebrations of Nairobi’s equaliser, a section of the team’s fans hurled objects onto the pitch, sparking the unrest. Flares were some of the objects hurled onto the pitch.
In response, some of Gor Mahia’s supporters stormed Nairobi’s section and assaulted the rival fans, forcing them to flee for safety. Several fans were injured. Azam TV’s Outside Broadcasting van and Gor’s bus were partly destroyed.
On Monday, Gor chairman Ambrose Rachier absolved the team’s fans of the blame for the chaos and noted that the security response was not appropriate.
“My position is that it is not an appropriate stadium to have the match in terms of security. Second is that you can have some disturbance and then if you have proper security in place, the disturbance will be quelled. I did not see that happen,” said Rachier.
“They were just some hired goons whom we understand were paid some Sh500 to come to the stadium and cause chaos. That is why when they sensed danger, they escaped,” added Rachier, urging FKF to award the match to Gor.
But Odaya denied the claims, saying adequate security had been put in place for the match. He said Gor fans were angered by not being allocated the middle orange stand seats.
According to him, during joint security meetings, Gor had on two occasions demanded to be allocated the middle stand, a request that Nairobi United declined since they were the hosts.
“They wanted the middle stands, that is why they attacked our fans and chased them from that place,” said Odaya.
He revealed that the club had deployed three platoons of Rapid Deployment Unit officers and 20 uniformed police officers from Dandora Police Station. He added that the club had 50 stewards and Gor 10, though during the match, they noticed that they were more than that number.
“We do not pay fans to attend matches. We do not have an account for that. We also don’t know how they mobilise themselves,” the Nairobi United CEO said, praying to FKF to award the team the match and impose sanctions on Gor.
