Decision by Football Kenya Federation Premier League Disciplinary Committee to return a verdict of “draw” to the Nairobi United versus Gor Mahia match that was abandoned in the 58^th minute after crowd trouble has once again raises concerns over rife match manipulation in Kenya.

The integrity of the league is under renewed doubt at a time reports indicate world football governing body Fifa has sent dispatch undercover investigators to root out perpetrators who include club officials, referees, betting firms, players and federation officials.

The FKF disciplinary committee’s ruling immediately elicited concern among the referees, with a female whistle-blower openly questioning why a certain male referee is the only who is always given matches involving “a certain big team.”

The committee’s controversial ruling coincided with reports that Fifa has already deployed sleuths to Kenya to investigate what a senior Confederation of African Football (CAF) described during CHAN tournament in Nairobi as “endemic match-fixing.”

According to Michal Esakwa, a former Football Kenya Chief Executive Officer during the Sam Nyamweya tenure, “The allegations of widespread match manipulation in FKF Premier League fundamentally undermine the integrity and credibility of the competition, casting serious doubt on the authenticity of match results, the determination of league champions, qualification for CAF competitions and the legitimacy of teams representing the country at continental level.”

Esakwa says the concerns “directly erode the quality and credibility of national teams (senior and age category national teams) that depend on the league as their primary talent pipeline, while simultaneously inflicting severe damage on the league’s commercial value by discouraging sponsorship and exposing sponsors, title rights holders and broadcast rights holders to reputational risk.”

The cumulative consequence is growing fan apathy and declining stadium attendance as supporters disengage from a league increasingly perceived to produce predetermined outcomes rather than genuine sporting competition, he explains.

In recent years, Gor Mahia and seven others teams have been the subject of finger pointing in the saga that precedes the current FKF leadership.

Also being discussed is role played by Gor Mahia Football Club Chair Ambrose Rachier and current and former senior club officials. Taking a cue from similar allegations that rocked Serie A and Serie B leagues in Italy in 2003-2006, the officials risk life ban from football and Green Army may stripped of the titles won during the period covered by Fifa investigations.

The undercover Fifa probe takes place at a time there is a stand-off in Football Kenya Federation between the executive and the secretariat over allegations of match-fixing among other things. At the heart of the dispute between FKF Chief Executive Officer Harold Ndege and FKF President Hussein Mohammed are complaints of disorganised national youth team preparations, questionable technical appointments, league management problems and recurring security incidents at matches.

Like his predecessor Barry Otieno, Ndege is accused of furthering the interests of Gor Mahia FC. Ndege denies the allegations and has gone further to obtain a stay order to shield him against eviction from office.

A member of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of AFCON 2027 told Tell Media during the recent AFCON in Morocco that the other teams under investigation are APS Bomet, Mare Sugar, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Kakamega Homeboyz, Posta Rangers, Shabana, Kariobangi Sharks and Murang’a Seals.

Tell Media has learnt that the entire football spectrum is under probe, including the Football Federation of Kenya, referees’ body and betting companies. Former FKF President Nick Mwendwa and his team is also under the spotlight as most of the issues being probed happened under his watch.

Depending on the outcome of several of match-fixing investigations, Gor Mahia risks banishment from association football for several years and maybe stripped of all leagues titles won during the seasons the alleged offences were committed, says LOC member, who declined to go n record citing his positions in Fifa and CAF.

He says he has no clue on the timelines of the investigations and that “speaking on record would compromise the outcome of the investigation.”

“What I am sure of is, Kenya has been under the Fifa spotlight for some time now. Current and former club and federation officials will not escape the dragnet. We are likely to see a situation like what Juventus, AC and Inter Milan in Italy were subjected to by Fifa for match manipulation,” he says.

For Gor, the recent controversies over matches involving Murang’a Seals, Mara Sugar, Bidco and Nairobi United have generated the most interest with calls to investigate the former champions.

The doubts stretch back to 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. On their way to winning the league in 2022-23 title, Gor Mahia scored 53 goals with 24 coming through penalties awarded in the last 10 minutes of the match. In 2023-24 season, K’Ogalo scored 48 goals – 17 from penalties in the last 10 minutes of the game.

A single referee has been a consistent fixture in Gor Mahia matches.

Fifa describes match manipulation as paying players of rival to allow in (or not score) goals, inducing a referee to favour one team, paying the technical bench of a rival club to name a weak line up (as was the case with Zoo FC).

Reached to shed light on these allegations, long-serving Gor Mahia Chair Ambrose deftly steered clear of the debate. While initially Rachier was willing to field questions, when the subject of match-fixing was broached, he parried the question, saying:

“I can’t talk to you.”

Why?

“I am not in a position to talk to you… (pause)…May be later… I am in a court hearing virtually (sic)… I may call you later when I am through,” Rachier said and hang up. He did not revert as promised.

The conscience of the footballing world was pricked in April 2024 when a senior official boasted to two senior Nation Media journalists that Gor Mahia is the most successful club in Kenya because “we eat with the referees.”

‘Eating’ is Kenyan argot or code for financial inducements, manipulation or bribery for favours.

When it is not match-fixing, the club has featured in allegations of deploying juju or voodoo to get results. Juju or voodoo, though, is a common feature in African football and in some jurisdictions, it is not illegal. In Kenyans football, terminologies such as “science” or “research” are codes for witchcraft, juju or voodoo, which a former Gor Mahia goalkeeper Levis Opiyo admits to.

The scariest reference to juju was by Police FC board member, Bishop Fred Akama, who is on record claiming supporters of a rival club were intercepted with a coffin they tried to sneak into the venue – Police FC Stadium in South B, Nairobi. While Bishop Akama did name Gor Mahia directly, it is noteworthy that the incident happened on the eve of a match between the two clubs.

“Last season, a well-known local club, which I won’t name, tried to perform rituals before our match. They attempted to bring a coffin into the Police Sacco Stadium in South C, Nairobi, at midnight. It wasn’t clear whether there was a body inside, but security officers intercepted them. Later, they came with their ‘priests’ and sprinkled water around the stadium, which is usually used in rituals for the dead. I hadn’t planned to attend the match that day but I received a call from our executive chairman, Munga Nyale, asking me to come and pray at the stadium because tensions were growing,” Bishop Akama narrated to Daily Nation.

Suspicions of match-fixing against Gor Mahia surfaced again at Kasarani Stadium again during Bidco vs Gor Mahia match on January 24, 2026, when a “drunkard” confronted Rachier about the risks of match-fixing and witchcraft. The Gor supremo ignored the drunkard and allegations of culpability.

Match-manipulation – whether via bribery or juju in an offence under Kenyan law and it is also banned by Fifa.

“Fifa is on your neck. You are used to match-fixing,” the “drunkard” yammered as Rachier looked on nonchalantly.

In a chat with Tell Media, another former senior FKF official confirmed that the investigations are underway but current and former officials swear to “case confidentiality clause by Fifa that bind officials not to disclose details of ongoing investigation to a third parties.”

When Tell Media contacted FKF President Hussein Mohammed to shed light on the seriousness of match-fixing, he neither answered calls nor responded to messages sent to him via his WhatsApp app. Tell Media had sought out Hussein to comment on alleged match-fixing by Gor Mahia, level of match-fixing, partisan refereeing, Fifa involvement to rid football and sports in general of the vice.

The LOC official said, “Very soon some clubs, players, managers and officials are going to be banned for life. Fifa says match-fixing is endemic in Kenya. Referees and technical benches are all part of the problem. The clubs or officials that will be found to have been involved in foul-play will have handed severe penalties. Football in Kenya is filthy. For example, how does a club boast of winning the league but its players cannot last more than three months in foreign leagues? There must something that is fundamentally unusual that happens behind the scenes? The league is won in the boardroom, not field of play.”

After the chaos that rocked African Cup of Nations (AFCON) final match, with Senegal boycotting play after Morocco was awarded a controversial penalty at the death, match-fixing dominated discussions in Rabat, with situation in Kenya featuring briefly. LOC official compares the Kenyan situation to the Calciopoli sports scandal in Italy’s Serie A and Serie B.

According to Wikipedia, “The scandal centred on the manipulation of referee appointments to favour certain clubs during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons. It was uncovered in May 2006 when a number of telephone tappings showed relations between clubs’ executives and referee organisations, being accused of selecting favourable referees. This implicated league champions Juventus and several other clubs, including Fiorentina, Lazio, AC Milan and Reggina.”

Consequently, in July 2006, Juventus was stripped of the 2004-05 Serie A title that “was left unassigned and was downgraded to last place in the 2005-06 Serie A, as the title was subsequently awarded to Inter Milan, and relegated to Serie B.”

In Kenya, KPL clubs and some match officials have for long complained of being assigned Gor Mahia-friendly match officials by long-serving match-officials designator. Unlike in English Premier League where referees and competition officials must declare club affiliations, in Kenya the referees’ body is routinely run by members of one community.

Tales of referees telling players what to do to be given penalties are common.

“The impact of ethnic considerations is seen in the performance other clubs. The other clubs and players do not see the need to put in their best because the winner of the league is predetermined, just as selection to the national team. Historically, Gor Mahia-dominated national team has never won Kenya a trophy,” the LOC official points out.

• A Tell Media report / By Samini Juma