By Ayomide otitoju
Kenya has been handed a $50,000 fine by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for safety and security breaches during the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN), the continental body announced on Wednesday.
The tournament, co-hosted for the first time by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, has been marred by long delays in stadium preparations and unruly crowd behaviour, particularly at Nairobi’s Kasarani Stadium. Previous matches involving Kenya saw ticketless fans force their way into the venue, with videos of chaotic scenes widely condemned online.
CAF’s disciplinary board said it found Kenya guilty of “multiple safety and security breaches” at Kasarani. Earlier this week, the country was fined $17,500 and had crowd sizes capped ahead of Sunday’s fixture against Zambia. CAF has warned that failure to meet safety requirements could see Kenya’s matches relocated to another venue.
The continent has a tragic history of stadium disasters, including the deaths of 140 people in a stampede outside a Guinean stadium last year. Kenya itself lost seven fans in a 2020 stampede.
Sports Minister Salim Mvurya said Kenya had assured CAF of full compliance with international safety standards.
“We have taken a senior security meeting this morning with the senior ranks in our police service, and we have agreed that we will put extra measures to ensure we secure Kasarani and Nyayo stadiums,” he told reporters.
Mvurya announced increased checkpoints on roads leading to the stadiums and the creation of six fan zones across Nairobi to accommodate supporters unable to access matches.
“We are determined to ensure that scenes of chaos do not repeat themselves,” the minister said.
