Nairobi City Stars are counting huge losses after they suffered a double tragedy during their Kenyan Premier League match against Gor Mahia at Moi Stadium, Kasarani on Sunday.
Besides crashing 3-2 to K'Ogalo in the action-packed thriller, Simba Wa Nairobi players also lost cash and valuables in broad daylight to daring kleptomaniacs.
A press statement coming hot on the heels of the incident on Sunday indicated that players and members of the coaching staff together suffered financial losses estimated at Sh100,000.
"Nairobi City Stars wish to confirm that during a 32nd round FKF Premier League match against Gor Mahia at Kasarani (Main Arena) on May 29, players and technical bench members lost personal belongings, including cash and mobile phones, from the changing room," the statement read.
"At half-time, the team returned to the changing room only to find bags and open wallets strewn on the floor. On checking, most realised they had lost cash and mobile phones. Very few were lucky as one row of bags was untouched."
"The shock caused a five-minute delay to the start of the second half and, after the game, it was ascertained that a total of 13 phones were stolen and up to 18 persons lost cash totaling Sh94,050, or thereabout.
"The room was locked just before kick-off and unlocked at half-time. Notwithstanding, a back window, fastened before departure from the room, was found open under very unclear circumstances," the statement continued to read.
Club CEO Patrick Korir confirmed they reported the matter to law enforcers at the the Kasarani Stadium Police Station who are already pursuing the suspects.
"They will commence investigations with a check on CCTV footage on Monday morning. They promised to get to the bottom of the matter in collaboration with the stadium security team."
The incident comes barely a week after the freshly-constituted FKF Transition Committee unveiled members of its Independent Disciplinary and Appeals Committee (IDAC).
The team includes former Kenya Referees Association chairman GMT Otieno, Kenya Football Coaches Association (Kefoca) chairman John Bob Oyugi, former Kenyan international Josphat Murila, lawyer Bernard Murunga, and ex-team manager of Harambee Starlets Asha Pili Ramadhan were named in the committee.
Leagues and Competitions chairman Ali Amour extolled the composition of the team saying he expects “our leagues to end on a high without any complaints from clubs, which are committed to honouring their obligations."
Unfortunately, Sunday's incident merely proved to be anticlimactic. It now behooves the Transition Committee to swing into prompt action as they grope for effective ways to curb such ugly occurrences.
As much as IDAC was primarily established to look into ballooning cases of biased officiating in the country's top and second-tier leagues, it's now important for them to resolve all issues affecting the leagues, including the one that befell City Stars over the weekend.
It is the responsibility of the Transition Committee to secure match venues and ensure the safety of teams, fans and the media personnel.
It's quite unfortunate that the incident marked Gor Mahia's return to the facility following a ban that lasted for the better part of the second half of the season due to crowd trouble caused by their fans. Gor Mahia being the host team should have ensured maximum security as required by law.
