Court Frees Match Fixing Suspects Arrested In Citizen TV Expose After Pleading Guilty
According to the charge sheet, the three were accused of conspiring to commit a felony contrary to section 393 of the constitution
Ian Muyumba 
A Makadara Court on Monday, May 8 released three suspects that were involved in a plot to fix an FKF Premier League fixture that featured Nairobi City Stars and Sofapaka.
The three individuals, Kenyan Martin Munga Mutua, Russian Akhiad Kubiev, and Ugandan Berbard Navendi were released after pleading guilty and paying the fines relevant to the charges they faced.
According to the charge sheet, the three were accused of conspiring to commit a felony contrary to section 393 of the constitution and cheating contrary to section 315 of the penal code.
Makadara Law Courts in Nairobi. /FILE
“You jointly conspired with others not before the court by inducing Samson Otieno Aloo, the team manager of City Stars to deliver football match-fixing of the City Stars versus Sofapaka game which would be played at Ruaraka on 11 March 2023 by promising to pay him 14,000 USD at the end of the match, an act which would influence the result of the game," the charge sheet read.
The three were arrested through a well-coordinated plan involving former Kakamega Homeboyz midfielder Festus Omukoto, KEFWA, FKF, Nairobi City Stars officials and law enforcers as well as several media houses including Citizen TV.
Reports had indicated that the trio allegedly tried to pay off players from Nairobi City Stars as well as the management Ksh1.8 million in exchange for losing to Sofapaka during an FKF PL match at Ruaraka Grounds.
This plan led to their arrest in Roysambu and their subsequent appearance in court in Makadara. Interestingly, Nairobi City Stars only learnt about the ending of the case when they appeared in court to testify earlier on Monday.
Speaking to the media after learning of the fate of the case, Nairobi City Stars CEO, Patrick Korir expressed his disappointment and urged the legislators to enact laws that criminalized match-fixing in the country.
“I have to say that I am quite disappointed with that (the release of the three) but it comes down to exactly what we have pointed out that without any law on match-fixing any suspects who are caught /arrested will walk scot-free,” said the CEO.
“It’s my plea to the national assembly committee on Sports and Culture that they should accelerate the enactment of laws so that when a suspect is arrested there’s a penal code that is applicable (in holding them accountable),” he added.
According to Korir, the case ended a week ago when the lawyer of the charged persons, Apollo Mboya wrote to the court applying for a change of plea. He appeared in person on April 25, 2023, and the court set a hearing three days later where the three pleaded guilty to the charges.
The trio paid Ksh100,000 each for each charge after three days leading to the closure of the case.
Section 315 of the Penal Code dictates that any person who conspires with another to commit any felony or to do any act in any part of the world which, if done in Kenya, would be a felony, is guilty of a felony. It also stipulates a fine or a jail term of one-and-a-half years for suspects found guilty.
Visit Flashscore for Live Football Scores.
