The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) recently issued a predictable press statement following the FKF Super Cup clash between Gor Mahia and Tusker at Nyayo Stadium. FKF condemned the “violence, disorder, and hooliganism,” promising investigations into the incident, including the indiscriminate deployment of tear gas after chaos erupted on the pitch following Tusker FC’s 3-1 win over Gor Mahia.
However, for Kenyan football supporters and media, this statement reads as hollow, performative, and entirely detached from reality.
The deployment of crowd-control gas inside Kenyan venues is a recurring hazard, but the violence at Nyayo Stadium reached an alarming new low as security forces targeted the press. SportyFMKE journalist Brandon Asiema was among the reporters assaulted by police officers while attempting to cover the post-match fallout. In an even more alarming incident, Hesbon Nyamari from the same media house was nearly abducted by police officers who sought to force him to delete footage he took of them, before he was rescued by fellow journalists on the scene.
Instead of isolating, apprehending, or banning the specific individuals who spark disruptions, police forces routinely default to brute force and blanket violence. Tens of thousands of peaceful spectators and working media professionals are subjected to toxic fumes, beatings, and crush injuries for the sins of a select few. The situation has grown so absurd that fans bitterly joke that anyone making kachumbari at a Gor Mahia match only needs to bring the tomatoes and onions, as the police will gladly supply the pepper in the air.
This status quo is illegal under international sports guidelines. Article 33 of the FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations explicitly forbids security personnel from carrying or using firearms and crowd-control gas within stadium perimeters.
FIFA enforces this rule for a simple reason: tear gas in enclosed, overcrowded spaces creates immediate blindness, disorientation, and acute panic, turning narrow exits into fatal choke points. By permitting local security forces to launch chemical agents and attack journalists inside Nyayo Stadium, FKF is actively failing in its basic duty of care.
It is a profound shame for a country poised to co-host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to treat fans, players, and members of the press with such hostility. International tournaments demand world-class security standards, not law enforcement tactics that turn sporting arenas into war zones.
Rather than beating journalists and teargassing supporters, FKF and stadium authorities must overhaul match-day operations immediately:
- Unarmed Stewards as Primary Security: Match management must shift to trained, non-lethal security stewards tasked with routine crowd control and aisle management inside the stands.
- Restricting Police Roles: Police and tactical units must remain outside the inner perimeter, serving strictly as a secondary backup for extreme public order or targeted arrests.
- Targeted Enforcement: Stadium management must utilize targeted intelligence to identify and ban violent agitators, ending the lazy reliance on mass teargassing.
Direct FIFA Intervention: FIFA must step in and hold FKF accountable to global safety standards before this state-sanctioned negligence leads to an irreversible disaster.