Football Fan's Car Stolen During Kenya vs Gabon Match At Nyayo Stadium

What was meant to be an exciting day at the 2026 World Cup qualifier match between Kenya and Gabon at the Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi on Sunday, March 23 turned sour for this football fan.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) reported on Monday, March 24 that the fan is lamenting the loss of his vehicle which was stolen while parked by the roadside along Kisauni Road behind the Nairobi West Hospital.

The incident happened as he watched the match between Kenya's Harambee Stars and Gabon's national team at the Nyayo Stadium, a match Kenya would lose 2-1, dimming the team's hopes of featuring in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

A photo of cars parked in Nairobi. /NAIROBI LEO

"Reporting at Akila Police Station in Lang'ata, the car owner indicated that he parked his Toyota IST registration number KBN 093B silver in colour at the said spot, at 3.40 pm and proceeded to the fan-parked stadium for the World Cup Qualifiers showdown.

"Still healing from a 2-1 loss to the Aubameyang-led Gabonese, the man returned to pick up his car at minutes past 7 pm only to find it missing," stated the DCI in part.

Having provided sufficient proof of ownership of the vehicle to the police, the car was circulated as stolen, with DCI Langata leading the investigation.

In another similar case, police in Juja are investigating the theft of a white Toyota Axio, registration number KCR 628U which was stolen from a residential house in the Matangi area near Rurii Primary School, Kimbo.

According to DCI, the owner had left it parked outside the residential home on Saturday night, but on waking up found it gone.

The DCI has since urged the public with any information about the missing vehicles to report to any police station or call the National Police Service (NPS) hotlines 999, 911, 112 or 0800722203 to #FichuakwaDCI.

The highly-anticipated World Cup qualifying match was riddled with controversy from the get-go. Before the 4 pm kickoff, chaos erupted at Nyayo Stadium as eager fans forced their way in by breaking down a gate. Before the match, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) had announced that all 22,900 tickets for Kenya’s first-ever home World Cup qualifier were sold out, leaving hundreds of football enthusiasts locked out.

However, just hours before the crucial match, hundreds of fans gathered outside Nyayo Stadium without tickets, hoping to gain entry into the newly renovated venue. Videos showed dozens of fans storming through an opening in the stadium after overpowering a security gate with their sheer numbers.

It remains unclear where security personnel were during the incident, though it is believed they were overwhelmed by the growing crowd outside. Additionally, the limited number of ticket-scanning zones worsened the situation, creating long queues and increasing frustration among ticket-holding supporters.

In other controversial events, Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salasya was attacked by football fans who threw him out of the pitch urging him to "respect the President."

In another robbery at the match which has since gone viral, businessman Jimal Roho Safi's wife Wangari Thiong'o lamented losing several valuables including Ksh256,000 in cash to suspected thieves.

"My black bag was snatched today after the match at Nyayo Stadium. It had a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, 256k in cash, ear pods, a power bank, and important documents," she stated on Instagram.