Why are some Gor fans wired for violence?

By Anil Bakari

Sometime in 1980s, my uncle told me recently, Gor Mahia was playing against perennial rivals AFC Leopards at City Stadium.

Being an ardent Gor fan, he was seated in the terraces with his nephew, who happens to be yours truly, chanting various tunes to support the club, whose performance during the match was lacklustre.

Then the worst happened; AFC scored the first goal and their fans erupted into song and dance. The club followed with another goal to the chagrin of Gor, which was then at the top of the Premier League. My uncle and other Gor fans did not tire to sing, hoping the club would wake up and win the match. In the 87th minute, Gor scored their first goal. He tossed me in the air in jubilation.

Sadly, the match ended soon after to the disappointment of my uncle and other Gor fans. However, as people were leaving City Stadium, the venue of the match, some Gor fans began rioting. The unrest became ugly as Gor and AFC fans turned on each other. During the fight, unruly Gor fans did not spare their own, like my uncle, who declined to take part in the riots.

A Gor fan armed with a nyaunyo (whip) lashed at him twice on the back as my uncle ran to protect me. He showed me a mark he sustained from the attack.

To cut the tale, that was the last time he stepped into a stadium to support the team. Gor went ahead to lose the league title to AFC.  My uncle recollected the events last week as we watched a clip on telly showing Gor fans destroying seats at Kasarani Stadium after being held to a barren draw by minnows Nairobi City Stars.

Over three decades later, Gor players and opponents have certainly changed, but some of their fans have not. The violence mentality has stuck with the club’s fans for ages, seemingly being handed from one generation to another. Any football fan expects his team to win the coveted Premier League title, but this cannot happen by force — something some Gor fans do not understand.

Not even the death of some fans and constant fines have dissuaded Gor supporters from becoming unruly. The Sh2.1 million fine Stadia Management Board penalised Gor for damages at Kasarani, will certainly not deter the club’s fans from rioting in future.

Something drastic should be done like taking away a few points from them or better still, identifying the culprits and sending their sorry behinds to Kamiti for years. Anyway, maybe I am wasting my time with all this chatter because to some Gor fans, perhaps violence is in their genes.