Do not be quick to condemn Harambee Stars fans for gate-crashing
Elias Mokua
By
Elias Mokua
| Aug 14, 2025
You reap where you sow. You harvest what you plant. These words from the Bible are practical and relevant to our daily lives. That is what the fans who forced their way into the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, tell us about the public behaviour we have cultivated over the past decades. We are reaping the fruits of our political impunity.
People don’t just wake up and disregard fundamental laws such as pay, get a ticket and use it to go to their allocated section of the stadium. It is learned behaviour. In part, it comes from the “monkey see, monkey do” political culture that we have practiced over the years.
But first, hearty congratulations to the national team Harambee Stars for once again lifting our sports spirits high. The resilience of 10 men fighting against 11 for over 45 minutes gives us pride in raising the national flag higher.
Back to our garden of political shame. For a few decades, Kenyans have learnt that following law and order does not always pay. We have come to understand that you can harvest where you did not sow. You can cut corners and rise to be a Very Very Important Person (VVIP). Kenyans have watched their rights trampled upon as the government demolishes their informal settlements and learned a lesson or two. Kenyans have known that exam cheating works for some and made a few attempts. We have also known that the electoral law does not always determine election outcomes. Moreover, we have also experientially concluded that pleading with the government does not always yield the required results.
So why would thousands of people disregard law and order to make their way into the stadium? Some claim they had tickets but were locked out.
First, people force their way when their urge to respond to their inner desire is strong and they see a window to fulfill it. Sports have a compulsion. Kenyans love sports. It is not surprising that fans have killed each other in the process of supporting their teams. An international match on home soil tempts radical fans. They do not get such a chance often. With such a high appetite, it is not inconceivable that groups of like-minded mobs will instinctively choose to break the law to watch and cheer from inside the stadium rather than watch and cheer over a television screen. Sounds rational. Unfortunately, it is not right. Buddies, pay or watch on television.
Second, the drive to watch the match also tells us that human beings need social events that give meaning to their lives. The cost of living has skyrocketed to the point where people struggle to afford events that allow them to be who they would like to be. Breaking law and order to watch a match would be seen as a way of finding this shared sense of fulfillment. No doubt, if the thousands of people had a little money for entertainment in their pockets, they would have happily queued to pay and get a ticket.
They have done that many times in the past. However, we have also seen many incidents in various stadia, in and out of the country, where fans who cannot afford to pay for tickets attempt to push their way into the stands. The question remains. How do we create an enabling environment for people to make money from which they can draw and pay for tickets? Just buying fans tickets is a poor policy decision. The long-term solution lies in ensuring people generate income from which they can draw to attend events that give meaning to their lives.
Thirdly, if we police the stadia so that poor fans do not enter to cheer their teams, we will be criminalising the poor. If we open the doors so that they can walk in and enjoy themselves, we will be creating a lawless society. Until top government leaders realise the centrality of political morality in upholding law and order, we will continue to destroy the tenets of a functional nation. The Kasarani lawlessness is a national shame before international media.
Dr Mokua is Executive Director of Loyola Centre for Media and Communication