•Two months down the line, and the distasteful beast has reared its ugly head in the country once again. This time round, Kenyan champions Gor Mahia are allegedly the surprise victims of this fast rising global menace.
•In a determined bid to clip the wings of the vice, Football Kenya Federation assembled all the 18 mandarins of Premier League clubs and made them aware that an integrity department had been set up in line with Fifa and CAF recommendations.
Image: ERICK BARASA
In January, sleuths in Kisumu cordoned off a popular hotel in the area and nabbed a Ugandan national who had allegedly attempted to manipulate the outcome of a Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier Premier League encounter between Western Stima and KCB.
Investigations revealed Niwagira Ronald Mwine met four people, his intention being to rope them into his unscrupulous plan of fixing a match with a promise they would first receive Sh10,000 for lunch and thereafter pocket a cool Sh500,000 if the deal came to fruition.
The scam claimed the scalps of at least 13 Western Stima players who were eventually discarded in a purge that caught many by surprise.
Mwine would later disentangle himself from the shackles of justice after Western Stima chairman Laban Jobita dropped the case.
Two months down the line and the distasteful beast has reared its ugly head in the country once again. This time round, Kenyan champions Gor Mahia are allegedly the surprise victims of this fast-rising global menace.
The management of the 19-time Kenyan Premier League champions have confirmed a number of their players are being investigated for match-fixing.
K'Ogalo's latest string of losses to FKF Premier League minnows has left their devotees tearing out their hair as they frantically grope for the elusive answers.
Gor were bundled out of the Caf Confederations Cup by Zambian representatives Napsa after conceding a penalty late in the match.
Initial speculations had attributed the losing streak to an inexperienced squad that was hastily patched up during the last transfer window after the club had witnessed unprecedented mass exodus of key players at the end of the previous season. Apparently, there is more to the dwindling standards than meets the eye.
A week ago, K'Ogalo's goalkeeper trainer Willis Ochieng resigned in a huff even as irked diehard fans began to cast aspersions on the integrity of the goalkeeping unit.
Image: ERICK BARASA
Speaking to the media in a recent interview, Gor Mahia Chairman Ambrose Rachier confirmed the club had constituted a team to rummage through the assertions.
“We’ve stumbled upon allegations of match-fixing in the club and we are treating the issue with utmost importance. The club has launched investigations to delve into the matter,” said Rachier.
Club's secretary general, Sammy Ochola, is equally smelling a rat, especially considering the calibre of teams the giants have crashed to in their recent league assignments.
“The issue of match-fixing is gaining ground and we are worried. We are keeping tabs on some players and club officials as possible suspects to these acts of match-fixing. Some of these games we have lost clearly direct us to believe the vice exists,” said Ochola.
Portuguese tactician Vaz Pinto,who has found himself at the end of heavy criticism due to the dwindling performance of the club since he took over at the start of the season, says it would be unwise to brush the allegations aside particularly at this time.
‘’We’ve registered some tragic results and there are some questionable incidents that lend credence to the fact that our team could be vulnerable to match-fixing. These things happen not just in Kenya but the world over,” coach Pinto said.
In a determined bid to clip the wings of the vice, FKF assembled all the 18 mandarins of Premier League clubs and made them aware that an integrity department had been set up in line with Fifa and CAF recommendations.
The department has rolled out an action plan whose implementation will be overseen by former Nairobi Stima coach Michael Kamura. The federation further revealed they had partnered with international sports data and technology company , Genius Sports, to provide them with data and integrity services.
“These workshops are not only meant to inform, educate, prevent and detect manipulation of matches but also to develop a legal policy document which can be presented to Parliament to ensure there is a legal framework that can help us mitigate and address this issue by prosecuting those involved in it,” he said.
“As you are aware, match fixing is a global menace, but FKF in partnership with Fifa and CAF have proactively decided to hold this workshop to sensitise the clubs’ chairmen,” said Otieno.
Otieno, however, agrees that battling the vice will be an arduous task if the federation was to be left do it in isolation and as such, they saw the need to work closely with their betting partners to help them sensitise and educate different stakeholders through seminars.
“We have engaged our betting partners to try and allocate money that will go towards sensitising, detecting, informing and educating different stakeholders on manipulation.
“It is very difficult to detect betting. In the last three months, Fifa has been sending us weekly reviews on our matches, and they have assisted us greatly in identifying matches with suspicious activity," he said.
Otieno revealed that FKF had sought the expertise of a UK-based sports data and technology firm, Genius Sports, to help them clamp down on the ring of suspects stoking the raging fire.
"The federation is at an advanced stage to sign a deal with Genius Sports. It will help the federation in collecting data and identifying suspicious activities around our matches,” said Otieno.
Otieno also decried the glaring absence of government policies to curb the menace.
“At the moment, there are no regulations and a legal framework that can assist the federation to fight match fixing. If we arrest someone today on suspicion of match manipulation, there are no laws that will allow us to take him to court.
“FKF can only discipline its members on the cases of match fixing, but not non-members. That’s where the challenge is and we need the government to come up with a regulatory framework to try and prosecute them outside football. We have no powers and resources to arrest and prosecute the suspects," said Otieno.
FKF said they would collaborate with the Premier League clubs to lobby for support in Parliament. Match fixing appears to be crippling Kenyan football given in 2018, Fifa banned four Kakamega Homeboyz players who were found culpable of the vice.
Image: FILE
They were Ugandan George Mandela who was banned for life, Festo Omukoto, Festus Okiring and Moses Chikati who were each handed a four-year ban.
“Formal disciplinary proceedings against the players stemmed from an investigation into various matches from the Kenyan Premier League in 2019. This investigation was conducted by FIFA through their Integrity Department with the consent of and in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders and authorities,” read a statement from the world football governing body.
FACTS
2020: World governing body Fifa confirms they have banned three Kenyan players for four years each for allegedly being involved in match manipulation.
The three are—Moses Chikati, Festus Okiring, and Festo Omukoto, all former players at Kakamega Homeboyz.
2021: Detectives in Kisumu arrest a Ugandan national, Niwagira Ronald Mwine, for attempting to manipulate the outcome of a Kenyan Premier League encounter between Western Stima and KCB.
2021: Football Kenya Federation sets up an integrity department headed by Michael Kamura in line with Fifa and CAF recommendations.
The federation reveals they had partnered with international sports data and technology company Genius Sports to provide them with data and integrity services.