Unheeded warnings preceded chaotic scenes at Gor, Shabana match

Police estimates put the number of injured fans at 52.  Many fans, a majority of them women, suffered suspected skull fractures, limb fractures, deep cuts and minor tissue injury, and were rushed to hospitals in Kisii County for treatment.

As the dust settles on the incident, fingers are pointing at systematic failure by both FKF, and home team Shabana FC for the chaos.

Shabana and Gor Mahia fans clashed before, during and after the match which defending champions Gor Mahia won 1-0.

Gor Mahia played Shabana in the first leg of the fixture on December 11 at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos.

The match ended 1-1. But as the return fixture approached, local football fans and the media questioned the suitability of Gusii Stadium to host the high-risk match, given the large fan base Gor Mahia and Shabana enjoy.

Gor Mahia suggested to the federation to reschedule the match from the 12,000-seater Gusii Stadium to a bigger venue. However, the proposal was met with resistance from Shabana.

The club’s fans stood their ground, saying that the match would only be played at Gusii Stadium, and threatened to boycott the fixture if it was taken elsewhere. Taking the fixture away from Gusii Stadium would deny Shabana homeground advantage.

The Kisii-based side gave all assurances that the fixture would be a success, and promised to put in place all the necessary safety measures. The home team had promised to deploy a sufficient number of officers from the General Service Unit (GSU) to act as a buffer zone between Gor Mahia and Shabana fans.

But going by the scenes witnessed on the day of the match, this did not happen.

GSU officers were only deployed outside the stadium to ensure fans queued in an orderly manner on their way into the stadium, and at ticketing areas, leaving stewards and Kisii County enforcement officers to man the stands.

Apart from the main dais which was open to fans of both teams, match organisers of the match had allocated home fans 10 areas in the stands (terraces), while Gor Mahia fans who travelled in their numbers to Kisii were allocated three seating areas.

Fans began arriving in the stadium as early as 7am for the 2pm fixture had occupied all their stands. 

By 11am, all of Shabana FC’s stands had been occupied, but those in charge of ticketing  still let in more fans. Upon seeing that all their stands were fully occupied, a section of Shabana fans decided to occupy one more stand meant for Gor Mahia fans.

When Gor fans entered the stadium and established that one of three stands assigned to them had been occupied, the situation degenerated into chaos.  

Although the stadium has multiple exit points, some remained closed during the chaotic scenes, pointing to poor crowd control.

When Gor Mahia scored the winner in the 80th minute, Shabana fans protested, citing biased officiating. At the final whistle, Shabana fans pursued Gor Mahia players, who had to be escorted out of the stadium by the police.

FKF Leagues and Competitions Committee Chairman Peter Kamau said they will give a detailed report once investigations are complete.

While condemning the acts of hooliganism, Kamau said the federation would take action after examining all the reports from the match.

“We will issue a comprehensive report later. If there were lapses in risk assessment, we will know what to do next. It is not only the FKF which is involved in the risk assessment. We will even require input from police whether they had intelligence that the match would degenerate into chaos or not,” he said.

On Sunday night, FKF condemned the acts of violence, saying: “FKF strongly condemns all forms of violence in our stadiums. Football must remain a sport that brings people together - not one that puts lives at risk. Safety and well-being of fans, players, and officials remains a top priority for the Federation.”