Charles Nyende
3 July 2011
analysis
Nairobi — Football fan Frankline Maloba aka Mlandege has become a fugitive.
Police, with the assistance of AFC Leopards, are seeking him to answer to charges of assault.
Mlandege was captured on camera in May physically attacking linesman Walter Ondiege during AFC Leopards’ troubled league match against Thika United that was marred by violence.
According to AFC Leopards’ sources, Mlandege has fled to neighbouring Uganda to avoid arrest.
Meanwhile, Gor Mahia have identified 25 known hooligans who caused trouble in their abandoned league match against Rangers early this season and given the names to the police for legal action.
These actions follow orders by KPL’s Independent Disciplinary and Appeals Committee to the two clubs to identify hooligans who have perpetrated violent acts in stadium and inform authorities for them to be apprehended and prosecuted as criminals.
Change of tact
This marks a new tact by KPL, which is no stranger to violence in football matches, to deal with the scourge of hooliganism that has continually blighted the progress made by the league body to popularise the game.
“Clubs must therefore fulfill their responsibility of ensuring that their members and supporters behave in a fair manner and refrain from violent and unsporting conduct at matches. In our view, this duty entails restraining fans, and identifying and punishing trouble shooters,” IDCC, under the chairmanship of Migai Akech, observes
Clubs have previously complained that they are the ones who suffer when KPL dishes out hefty fines and orders matches to be played behind closed doors.
“Punishing the clubs hurts the clubs and eventually the players. The fan who causes trouble feels nothing because he is not touched. We believe if hooligans are made to pay through fines and jail terms remedies can be got,” Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier said.KPL chief officer Jack Oguda agreed that troublesome fans must be isolated.
“It should be made clear to fans that they cannot take the law into their own hands. They cannot vent their emotions through violence. Anybody who engages in violence should be punished,” he said.
But as the law closes in on the known yobs, Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards, easily the best-supported clubs in the country, have not gone unpunished for the violence meted out by their respective fans.
IDCC has fined AFC Leopards Sh150,000 and Gor Mahia Sh200,000 in addition to being ordered to foot a damage bill of Sh1.5 million.
KPL broadcast rights holders SuperSports have withdrawn live coverage of matches involving Gor Mahia, while Sports Stadia Management Board is considering barring the club from playing in their facilities.
Stung by the backlash, both Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards have initiated strategies aimed at curbing crowd violence during matches.
These include engaging security stewards, providing mechanisms to identify and weed out troublemakers, educating fans on the negative effects of violence and banning known hooligans from attending their matches.
It may be impossible to completely end violence and anti-social behaviour in football but by going for the trouble makers, the league has sent the most powerful message yet: that violence has no place in this game.
Rachier last week said Gor Mahia was actively fighting hooliganism and had already identified 25 known troublemakers and forwarded their names to the police for legal action.
“We have excluded these fans from the stadium during our matches and informed the police. I believe if hooligans are made to pay for their actions through individual sanctions and jail terms, the problem can be remedied,” Rachier said.
The Gor Mahia boss was speaking after he officially announced a campaign by the club, in conjunction with their sponsors Tuzo, to stop violence and anti-social behaviour during their matches.
Amongst the programmes arranged are to train marshals to take care of security during matches, to train official cheerleaders who will help in directing crowd passion on the stands and a nation-wide sensitisation campaign of Gor followers through their 123 branches on the negative effects of violence and anti-social behaviour.
“Our major aim is to clearly separate our passionate fans who run into millions from the 10 or so hooligans. We are determined not to let a few criminals tarnish our name and deter us from accomplishing our goal of becoming champions of the 2011 KPL,” Rachier said.
Gor Mahia has twice this season been involved in violent acts perpetrated by their fans, first against Rangers and then Ulinzi Stars.
Rachier said 25 fans had been identified in Gor Mahia’s troubled league match against Ranger on February 26, but only the authorities could apprehend and prosecute them.
He said punishing the individuals who caused trouble rather than the club was the best way to deal with the hooligan scourge.
AFC Leopards, who have had their fair share of crowd trouble, have also began programmes to stem hooliganism including identifying yobs and helping in their arrest and prosecution.
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