Kenya Police win maiden FKF Premier League title
Kenya Police FC striker Brian Okoth celebrates his goal against Shabana FC during their FKF Premier League match at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos County on June 15, 2025.
What you need to know:
- Under his stewardship, Police transformed into serious title contenders, capitalising on the inconsistency of their closest rivals, including defending champions Gor Mahia and perennial challengers Tusker.
- Gor, who were chasing a record-extending 22nd league crown and hoping to make it a hat-trick of titles, will now settle for second place regardless of the outcome in the season finale.
Kenya Police Football Club on Sunday secured their maiden Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKF-PL) title on their fourth time of asking.
Promoted to the top flight in September 2021, the law enforcers sealed the championship with a narrow 1-0 victory over Shabana at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos. Brian Okoth rose to the occasion in the 75th minute, nodding home a superb header that proved to be the title-winning goal.
The result saw Police move to an unassailable 64 points, ending a three-season wait for the league title.
Gor Mahia, who were the defending champions, are second on the log, edged Ulinzi Stars 3-2 at Ulinzi Sports Complex, but remain six points behind with one match to go.
Had Police faltered against Shabana, the title race would have gone down to the wire next Sunday when Police and Gor Mahia face off in the final match of the season.
Kenya Police’s David Simiyu (centre) battles for the ball with Shabana goalkeeper Maxwell Mulili during their FKF Premier League match at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos County on June 15, 2025.
Police’s title triumph is especially remarkable considering their poor start to the campaign. After eight games, they had only one win, five draws and two losses and were dangerously close to the relegation zone.
That poor run prompted the club to sack the entire technical bench led by head coach Salim Babu in November 2024.
The turning point came with the appointment of Burundian tactician Etienne Ndayiragije, formerly in charge of the Tanzania and Burundi national teams.
Under his stewardship, Police transformed into serious title contenders, capitalising on the inconsistency of their closest rivals, including defending champions Gor Mahia and perennial challengers Tusker.
Gor, who were chasing a record-extending 22nd league crown and hoping to make it a hat-trick of titles, will now settle for second place regardless of the outcome in the season finale.
Technical bench
Kenya Police captain David Ochieng expressed his delight following the club's historic FKF Premier League triumph, crediting the achievement to the team’s hard work and the impact of coach Etienne Ndayiragije, who he said instilled a winning mentality in the squad.
“I feel good (to win the FKF-PL). We have worked hard for it. As you have seen, it has been a tough league, we fought very hard and I think we deserve to win it,” said Ochieng.
“He (Ndayiragije) made us believe we could play well, win matches and even challenge for the title despite our poor start to the season.
He also introduced an attacking style of football which we embraced, and it has won us the league,” added the Kenya international.
Kenya Police chairman Nyale Munga was equally ecstatic, attributing the team’s success to the decision to overhaul the technical bench early in the season.
“This is a sweet win. I am overwhelmed that I do not know what to say, but we are extremely happy,” said Munga.
“Kenya Police is a big team and a brand. At the beginning of this season, we had said that this is our year. We have made it, and we are extremely happy.
After the first eight matches, we were at the bottom of the table. We made a few changes in the technical bench, and then we started to spring up,” he added.