AFC Leopards midfielder Gatusso threatens to kill journalist

Gattuso in action against Gor Mahia.jpg

 

Troubled AFC Leopards midfielder Collins ‘Gattuso’ Okoth is on the spot once again, this time for threatening to kill a sports journalist.

Seth Onserio who writes for Goal.com received the chilling text message from the former Gor Mahia player last week for writing what Gattuso considered a negative story about him.

In the story, Onserio reported that Gattuso skipped a number of training sessions at the den and was hanging out with Gor Mahia players and fans ahead of their 2018 Super Cup derby match in which K’Ogalo won 1-0.

Offended, the player who once also turned out for Sofapaka, fired off a text message, warning the journalist of death.  

When Onserio responded to the text asking for forgiveness, according to screenshots in our possession, the player exploded and went ahead to extend the grudge to the entire media fraternity. He vowed to eliminate one of them for offending him ‘regularly’.

“One day, like seriously, I will kill someone from (the) media; trust me on this,” the text read.

In one of his texts to Onserio, he wrote: “Nitanyamaza kama mjinga niwache kucheza league ya Kenya then ule atanifuata tena I will sacrifice him or her. I swear to God wacha saizi kama mjinga sitabonga na na anyone no matter what but ‘just one day’,” he threatened.

But Onserio says he was only performing his duty as a journalist and did not fabricate anything he wrote and has reported the matter to the police.

“I contacted my sources at the club (AFC Leopards) and I was told of what was going on there. That’s what I reported, simple as that. I was shocked to later receive death threats from the player,” he told The Nairobian, adding that, “For fear of my life, I dashed to Villa Imara Police Post and filed a report.”

Kenyan Premier League CEO Jack Oguda has condemned the incident, but explained that they are yet to receive an official complaint from the journalist for possible action.

“I heard of a message sent by a Kenyan Premier League (KPL) player to a sports journalist. All I can say is that the whole thing is unfortunate.

“It is a case which can be taken up by KPL’s disciplinary committee, but we are yet to receive a formal complaint. We will deal with the matter conclusively if we have a report before us,” he said.

Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK) chairman Chris Mbaisi also expressed his disappointment over the matter and advised stakeholders in the industry to respect one another.

“As journalists, we have a job to do and irrespective of how painful it is, we need to get our facts right so that we can inform our audiences. Abusing or attacking a journalist is a crime because this is someone who is performing his or her duties. These are the same journalists who report when you win or when you shine in your carrier. So as SJAK, we condemn this matter in the strongest terms possible,” he said.

He said that Gattuso could have simply given his side of the story to put the record straight.

“This was an opportunity for him to explain himself keep his fans updated,” he added.

AFC Leopards secretary general Oscar Igaida also confirmed that the midfielder remains suspended until a decision is made by the club’s executive committee.

“Gattuso was found guilty of failing to attend key training sessions and was therefore suspended, together with head coach Robert Matano. The coach’s case has been heard but that of the player will be dealt with by the end of the week. We shall know what decision to take after that,” he said.

Absconding duty has been Gattuso’s Achilles’ Heel in the clubs he has featured for, including Gor where his truancy created a great rift between him, coaches and officials last season. He was eventually released by K’Ogalo before making a move to Ingwe.

We were, however, unable to reach him for a comment because he did not pick or return our calls and text messages.