The 2024/25 Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) title race took a dramatic twist on Wednesday after league leaders Kenya Police and second-placed Tusker both suffered defeats in their respective matches.
Kenya Police lost 2-1 to Kakamega Homeboyz at the Mumias Sports Complex in Kakamega County. Tusker, meanwhile, endured a painful 2-0 loss to FC Talanta at Dandora Stadium in Nairobi, a result that left their title ambitions hanging by a thread.
Despite the setback, Kenya Police remain top of the standings with 58 points from 31 matches, with only three games remaining in the season. Tusker, on the other hand, stay second with 55 points, but have played two matches more than third-placed Gor Mahia.
The latest results handed a significant advantage to defending champions Gor Mahia, who face Nairobi City Stars on Thursday at Dandora.
Gor are on 53 points and have two games in hand. A victory against "Simba wa Nairobi" will see them leapfrog Tusker into second place, with a game still in hand.
At Dandora, FC Talanta striker Emmanuel Osoro stole the show by scoring twice from close range, raising his season tally to 16 goals.
Osoro is now joint top scorer alongside Moses Shumah of Kakamega Homeboyz, who also netted his 16th goal of the campaign against Kenya Police. Glen Otunga added the other goal for Homeboyz, while Mohamed Bajaber scored a consolation for Police—his ninth of the season.
Thirteen-time champions Tusker now face a make-or-break run in their final three fixtures against Sofapaka, Kariobangi Sharks, and Kakamega Homeboyz.
The title is no longer in their control—they must now hope for slip-ups by both Kenya Police and Gor Mahia to stay in contention.
Kenya Police are also walking a tightrope, with upcoming matches against FC Talanta, Shabana, and a potentially decisive clash against Gor Mahia in their last game of the season. The law enforcers are seeking their maiden FKF Premier League title and will need consistency to see it through.
Elsewhere, Bidco United’s battle to avoid relegation suffered a major setback after the Thika-based side fell 2-1 to Shabana FC at the Gusii Stadium.
Austin Odongo gave the hosts an early lead in the 18th minute, capitalising on a defensive blunder by Bidco captain Peter Nzuki.
However, Bidco responded 20 minutes later when Clinton Asiago rose above the Shabana defence to head home an Evans Makari corner and level the scores. Brian Michira grabbed the winner for Tore Bobe in the 59th minute when he scored from the spot after Oscar Juma was brought down in the box.
Despite the loss, Bidco head coach Anthony Akhulia remained optimistic about his team's chances of surviving relegation, expressing confidence in the remaining fixtures.
“All our remaining games are now finals. It is not easy to play against a team like Shabana, whose supporters keep on pushing them all through. Our plan for this match was to get at least one point if at all we were not to win. But Shabana has carried the day and I congratulate them for that,” said Akhulia.
Akhulia, who also serves as assistant coach of Kenya’s Under-20 men’s national team, expressed dissatisfaction with the officiating.
“We believe that some decisions made by the officials were not accurate. We however have no time to complain about it and now our focus shifts to remaining fixtures,” he added.
On the other side, Shabana head coach Peter Okidi praised his players for the victory.
“We played very well and I want to commend my players for that. Let each team win its matches and we will see at the end of it all who carries the day,” said Okidi.
The youthful tactician added that their focus now shifts to the weekend derby against neighbours Mara Sugar FC, who played to a goalless draw against Bandari FC in another mid-week fixture at Awendo Green Stadium in Migori County.
Despite the win, Shabana remain fourth on the log with 53 points—just one behind 21 time champions Gor Mahia.
Bidco United drop to 17th place following the defeat. They now have 29 points, three behind 16th-placed Murang’a Seal. Nairobi City Stars remain bottom of the 18-team league with 27 points.
