Whereas there are those who have argued that football fans without tickets for last weekend’s Kenya versus Gabon game did well to storm the Nyayo National Stadium, I wish to advance the view that the reprehensible means did not justify the end.
Football, like all civilized activities, demands order, rule of law and predictability. As such, it was wrong for goons to breach one of the gates of the stadium and illegally access areas reserved for paying fans. This makes nonsense of the idea of ticketing.
It beats logic for a law-abiding citizen to spend time and money acquiring a ticket and travelling to the venue only to find their seat taken up by a red-eyed and marabou stork-carrying thug. It was even worse that some of goons assaulted a Member of Parliament, just because they took their political differences to a sports event at a time when television cameras from across the continent had their lenses firmly focused on Kenya.
There were also reports, which were yet to be independently confirmed, that one female fan lost money and valuables while leaving the venue. This implies that there were others who suffered one form of loss or the other but chose to bear their pain in silence.
Indeed, there have been reports to such effects since. Yet the organisers, Football Kenya Federation (FKF) had promised all in attendance topnotch security. What happened to that pledge or was it just a gimmick to lure fans into spending their hard-earned money without enjoying the commensurate bouquet of services?
Let us for one minute appreciate that this was the first time in a long time that Harambee Stars was playing on home soil after both Fifa and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) found stadia in Kenya unfit to host international matches.
Ironically, when Kenya earned an opportunity to demonstrate that it was putting its house in order and getting ready to host both CHAN and AFCON tournaments later in this year, rogues used the event to squander what was otherwise a golden opportunity.
It should not come as a surprise, therefore, if the continental football governing body, CAF, decides to sanction Kenya for these inexcusable security lapses that have cast the management of football in bad light at home and abroad. One suspects, however, that there was a hand — probably two — behind the aberrations that sought to use a sports showcase to make a political statement.
And this is part of the major problem that has become all too common in recent months. It does not matter if it happens in a church service, funeral, or other somber occasion. All have been turned into theatres of needless political brinkmanship even though elections are still two years away.
The upshot is that lawlessness and its mannerless cousin, impunity, have become common currency at every turn, with those perpetuating them losing all modicum of decency in their pursuit of raw power and self-aggrandisement.
As a result, Kenyans are slowly losing respect for the basic minimums of constructive social engagement, throwing out all rules, including sacred constitutional precepts, to achieve their selfish goals. Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, the morass is spreading to other sectors of public life because clearly, choices in Kenya have no consequences. However, this trend ought not to be allowed to taint football.
In other countries, including neighbouring Tanzania, the sport is a major driver of economic growth and national happiness. Tickets sales hit the roof every time their equivalent of premier league teams meet. In Kenya, unfortunately, such ties have become theatres of violence. Already, fans are being cautioned about attending the upcoming “Mashemeji” derby because of the risk of violence.
In Tanzania, by contrast, big businesses, such as suppliers of soft beverages, have partnered with teams and football managers to ride on this virtuous cycle. It is no wonder, then, that Tanzania has better quality stadia compared to Kenya and was prepared to host the two continental ties way before Kenya started building its first stadium.
Will we be surprised then if they put up a spectacular opening ceremony and we fail to live up to the billing? Most likely, we will feign surprise and argue that Kenya is still ahead in other areas, but deep down, we know that Tanzania is doing a consistently better job at running football than we are. So are Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania.
The message that needs to go out to football managers, and politicians as well, is that Kenya is in too precarious a position to afford messing around with international football. We may fail to qualify for the World Cup, we are more likely to put up lackluster tournaments, but we need to keep on building on the small successes we have been chalking up if we are to turn local football into the powerhouse it has potential to be.
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