festival turns into tears in Lamu as residents engage police

"Chaos started after Monaco FC fans protested the 4-1 win in favour of Deep Sea club at the Twaif Grounds in Lamu town."

Some Kenyans have been debating online over the use of tear gas. Some say it was rendered useless since the merging of President Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition chief Raila Odinga through their historic handshake. Do you remember the famous machozi Mondays? This were the protests that used to be held by opposition supporters back in 2016 in demand of changes at the electoral body, IEBC.

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Tear gas used to thrown at protesters, an act that became a trend when Raila used to play strong opposition politics. Did you just think that tear gas became useless after handshake? Then it is back in use! Police on Wednesday fired teargas to disperse rowdy football fans who went rogue after their team was beaten during the Maulid Cup finals in Lamu County.

The match is part of the annual four-day Maulid festival marked by a section of Muslims to mark the birth of prophet Mohamed (S.A.W) in the holy city of Mecca.

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Chaos started after Monaco FC fans protested the 4-1 win in favour of Deep Sea club at the Twaif Grounds in Lamu town.

Referee Mohamed Hamza’s final whistle saw Monaco fans troop to the playground and threatened to assault the referee.

It was at that time that police used teargas to disperse the agitated fans. The chaotic scenes caused tension and fear among other fans.

At least 24 teams participated in the Maulid cup. The referee was later escorted out under tight security.

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FKF South coast chairperson Fuad Ali condemned the incident saying it painted the event in a bad light.

“Football is a game that requires discipline from both players and fans. People need to understand that in any given match, there must be a winner and a loser.”

“We won’t allow such incidents here since they could escalate to something else. It’s very shameful,” Ali was quoted by The Star.

 

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