The Russian, the Ugandan, and the Kenyan match-fixing suspects detained last Friday in Roysambu were released yesterday after appearing in court on an Sh300,000 bond and sureties of the same.
The three defendants, Akhiad Kubiev of Russia, Bernard Nabende of Uganda, and Martin Munga Mutua of Kenya, appeared in court on Monday and denied allegations of committing an offence in contravention of Section 393 of the Penal Code while conspiring to do so and of deceiving in violation of the Penal Code's Section 315.
"You also plotted with individuals not in court by offering to pay City Stars team manager Samson Otieno Aloo 14,000 USD after the game that would be played at Ruaraka on March 11, 2023, to deliver football match-fixing," the accusation states." the charge sheet said.
They were detained on Friday while meeting with Nairobi City Stars players and officials to allegedly rig their FKF Premier League match against Sofapaka on Saturday.
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Authorities intervened after receiving information from Patrick Korir, the CEO of Nairobi City Stars, and former Kakamega Homeboyz footballer Festo Omukoto.
The fixers approached Omukoto, who is currently serving a match-fixing ban and is an ambassador for the Kenya Footballers Welfare Association (KEFWA), to put him in touch with City Stars players to rig their match against Sofapaka on Saturday.
Omukoto then got in touch with Patrick Korir, CEO of City Stars, and together they devised a plan to catch the fixers, who were eventually caught in Roysambu.
"In line with their strategy, they expected us to give up one goal early on and two more after the first 75 minutes. We had to make sure we let up two goals to score. They needed seven players, including a goalkeeper, midfielders, and defenders, to carry out the strategy". Korir
Football Kenya Federation had already sent a statement stating that it was monitoring the situation and coordinating with the authorities but would make no more comments.
For the past few years, match-fixing has become rife in the FKF Premier League, mainly when fixers target organizations with difficulty paying their players.
Early in February, Mathare United punished two senior players for the same offence: Alphonse Ndonye and Lennox Ogutu. At that time, the team has been performing well.
"The vice runs very, very deep in Kenyan football, and unfortunately, it also involves officials at large," Korir said, referencing the incident in their encounter against Bandari in early January, where they gave up a late goal off a dubious penalty.
The involved referee was later suspended.
