Kenyan football was stunned on February 8, 2023, following news that two local league players had been suspended for alleged match-fixing.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) announced that it had suspended Mathare United’s Lennox Oguttu and Alphonce Ndonye from participating in any country’s football activities until the matter is concluded.
More than once in recent years, corruption in football has reared its ugly head, and the idea that one of the elite African leagues is still involved in match-fixing is undoubtedly troubling.
Here are the five most famous examples of match-fixing stories that left scars in Kenyan football.
Mumias Sugar 10-o Kisumu All Stars (1999)
Mumias Sugar won the 1999 Kenya Super League while picking up their maiden title. Dominating Kenyan football and winning the KFF Cup suddenly looked pointless as Mumias was found guilty of match-fixing.
The club was discovered to have offered money to Kisumu All Stars as they needed seven clear goals in the match at their home ground in western Kenya to win the league championship.
Consequently, Mumias Sugar was stripped of the title and the right to play not play in the 2000 African Club champions’ Cup or the African Cup Winners’ Cup.
Kisumu All Stars, who finished at the bottom of the 21-team league, have also been suspended for one year.
World Cup qualifying fixture between Kenya and Nigeria (2009)
Harambee Stars lost 3-2 to Nigeria in a World Cup qualifier played at Moi International Sports Center Kasarani on November 14, 2009.
The Super Eagles needed a win and their Group B opponents in Tunisia to draw or lose Mozambique to qualify for the World Cup.
Nine years after the match, it was discovered that an Asia- based football broker Wilson Raj Perumal with his associate, fixed the result in favor of Nigeria after involving three Kenyan players who were paid Sh7 million (on current exchange rates) to ensure Kenyan lost the match.
One of the players, George Owino Audi, was found guilty by FIFA, banned from all football-related activities for ten years, and fined $15 000 for conspiring with Perumal to manipulate and influence the result of international matches involving Kenya.
Western Stima v KCB (2021)
Ugandan football agent Ronnie Santos Mwine was arrested by the Kenyan Police for allegedly trying to influence a Kenyan Premier League match involving Western Stima and KCB on February 1, 2021.
One Western Stima FC official accused Mwine of trying to convince four of his team players to lose the game. The former Uganda national radio presenter had offered to pay $5000 once the deal went through as planned after spending $100 as a down payment.
Days after his arrest Mwine was later acquitted by a Kisumu court and regained his freedom.
The match had ended 3-1 in favor of KCB, but Mwine and his accomplices had allegedly promised the Stima players the cash if they lost the game by a margin of 4-0 upwards.
Zoo Kericho (2021)
In May 2021, Zoo Kericho was relegated from the Football Kenya Federation after being found guilty of match manipulation by FIFA.
The football world governing body said the decision to sanction the club was related to a series of (KPL) matches deemed to have been manipulated between 2018 and 2020 by the club’s members.
In June 2022, Zoo was again relegated, this time to the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Division One League, and fined Sh6 million for failing to comply in full with the decision rendered by Fifa on April 23, 2021.
Paul Nkata (2019)
In January 2019, Kakamega Boyz sacked their Ugandan coach Paul Nkata over match-fixing allegations.
The coach allegedly was part of a match manipulations syndicate at the club before turning his mobile phone off and fleeing to Kampala.
Reports indicated that the management accused the coach of conspiring with other technical bench members and gambling with the club’s premier league games.
The die in the wool added that Nkata agreed with some of his players to manipulate results to suit some betting companies he benefits from before matches.
During that period, Kakamega Homeboyz had managed to churn out a solitary victory in eight outings.
The matter was reported to the world football governing body FIFA, and after investigations, all the charges were dismissed.
That came days after FIFA banned former Kakamega Homeboyz player George Mandela for life over match-fixing while Moses Chikati, Festus Okiring, and Festo Omukoto got four-year bans.
