The Nyaza Regional KSSSA Term Two games ended in mayhem and tragedy, when Riokindo Boys’ volleyball coach was hit by a vehicle along the Kisii-Mosocho-Oyugis Highway and killed while running away from thugs. Armed with crude weapons, the football hooligans struck towards the tail end of the games.
The violence started when fans armed themselves and surged around the football pitch upon realising that their team was going to lose. In the ensuing mayhem, teachers and players were caught in the melee. A Matutu player needed first aid following a head injury which the riotous mob inflicted on him.
The volleyball coach died on the spot in a hit-run accident in an attempt to flee the violence. The vehicle sped off.
Fans from Agoro Sare have been accused in this incident, which went down after the team lost 1-0 to Kisumu Day. It is reported that enraged fans and Cardinal Otunga students were assaulted for supporting Matutu, a Nyamira-based school.
According to Milcah Mutiku, the Vice-Chair in charge of Kisumu County Secondary Schools Sports, presiding officers for that particular match were also not spared as they stoned them, forcing them to flee for their lives. Nyanza Region Director of Education Lawrence Karuntimi condemned the hooliganism, saying it kills talent and undermines sports.
Karuntimi said that sports and games are meant to enhance holistic development among learners and teamwork; it did not have any space for violence notes. Delegates were warned that this was not the first time such behaviour was noted in KSSSA games within the Nyanza region. In 2022, an incidence where an assistant referee was injured during a match pitting Kanga against Agoro Sare saw the game shelved and relocated. A game between Agoro Sare and their archrivals St Mary Yala was abandoned mid-way last year over fears of fans causing chaos.
The incidents further raise the need for tighter measures to ensure security and integrity in school sports in the region.