Gor Mahia fan and singer Leonard “Taya Dok” Onyango (left) and rival super fan Jaro Soja (right).
Is ‘juogi’ (the club’s guardian spirit) about to desert self-proclaimed Gor Mahia super fan, Jared Obonyo aka “Jaro Soja”, and his group, and settle on his supposed usurper, Leonard Onyango aka “Taya Dok”, and his gang?
This is the question at Gor Mahia, as its fan base is rocked by a vicious fight pitting the two camps against each other, each trying to outdo the other in claiming to be the club's biggest supporter.
Gor Mahia fan and singer Leonard “Taya Dok” Onyango (left) and rival super fan Jaro Soja (right).
It is literally a fight for the soul of the club. A fight to be the outright 12th man of the club.
So bad is the situation that during Gor Mahia matches, two distinct groups appear on the stands, seated in different sections of the stadium, singing different songs as they try to outdo each other on who is the most exuberant supporter of their beloved K’Ogalo.
While the team is doing well on the pitch, seated atop the Premier League table four points ahead of their nearest rival, the situation on the stands is decidedly not good at all, with disagreements and an unhealthy rivalry that has spilled over to social media.
A case in point was on Saturday at Nyayo National Stadium during Gor’s match against Sofapaka. The Jaro Soja camp sat on the Nairobi West side, to the right of the VIP section, while the Taya Dok group sat on the Uhuru Highway side. The two groups were noisily supporting Gor separately, and not in unison, as one would normally expect.
Gor Mahia fan and singer Leonard “Taya Dok” Onyango (centre) leads in celebration after K'Ogalo beat Kenya Police 2-0 in a Kenyan Premier League match at Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi on November 9, 2025.
In an interview with the Daily Nation on Sunday, Taya Dok accused Jaro Soja of abandoning the team to concentrate on following politicians. Taya Dok said he was forced to step in and save the situation.
“During some matches, he (Jaro Soja) was sitting with politicians and not joining the choir, then he poached some of our members, bought a few drums for them and started the rivalry. So could we allow the choir to die because Jaro was following politicians?” posed Taya Dok.
The fight over Gor Mahia
So wide are the differences between the two groups that they don’t speak to each other.
Jaro’s group supports the tenure of current club Patron Eliud Owalo while Taya Dok’s group is affiliated with former Gor Mahia Secretary General Sam Ochola who has never publicly supported the appointment of the new patron.
Gor Mahia fan Jaro Soja, leads other fans in cheering their team on Tom Mboya Street, Nairobi on May 8, 2022 ahead of Mashemeji derby.
“The issue is that when Jakom (Raila Odinga, former Gor Mahia patron) died, we called for a transparent way to look for his successor, but some opposed, so we moved on. However, Jaro has been bitter and is fighting us, claiming the former Secretary General is using us to destabilize the team’s support base. We won't be deterred because nobody has a monopoly on being a bigger fan of the club than the other,” said Taya Dok.
He claimed that Jaro has forgotten the same Gor Mahia choir that propelled him to his current status.
Jaro Soja did not return calls or text messages when the Daily Nation reached out to him.
However, in a video posted on Facebook on January 18, he said: “They are serving the interest of those who are against Gor Mahia office and they are abusing me that I have had favours. We can’t sing for the former secretary general like Taya Dok and his camp are doing. They are the same people who wanted to make Oburu Oginga the patron?”
Gor Mahia fans celebrate their team's victory over Sofapaka in a Kenyan Premier League match at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on January 31, 2026.
He acknowledged that the divisions have been hurting the team but he would not relent in fighting for Gor.
“If they want to force us to fight, then we are ready, but we can’t follow them. We also want old songs, but not the vulgar songs they are singing,” added Jaro Soja.
Paradoxically, as the fight for Gor's soul rages, the overall turnout for the club's games this term has generally improved compared to last season.
