The practice of witchcraft and black magic remains prevalent in football and more so in African football, fascinatingly Kenyan football is included despite various bans at the international level.
As it turns out, the practice of ‘juju’, or witchcraft, by players, teams and fans has long been a factor in Kenyan football.
It is alleged that some players have been consulting witch doctors on the fortunes of a team before a major game while weakening and intimidating the opponents.
According to the latest revelations, players and officials visit a well-known ‘juju’ man from Congo residing in Umoja, Nairobi county who is said to have a lot of influence on the outcome of games and performance according to the players.
Cases of dead animals, dead human body parts, smeared blood and water cremation in some changing rooms are some tactics used by those who are said to believe in the black magic or ‘juju’.
Kenya’s most celebrated team Gor Mahia and rivals AFC Leopards have been caught in the middle of the ‘juju’ narrative, with both teams accused of the practice of witchcraft to influence their success in the league.
In an interview with a reporter, several key players plying their trade in the Kenya Premier League also chipped in their knowledge on the matter but asked their identity be concealed for fear of victimization and lack of playing time for exposing the allegations.
Some of the practices that are alleged to be used by the teams are quite funny with some weird and more so scary given they practice on the football field.
According to one captain who plays for a top club in the country in a must-win fixture, the bus driver is not allowed to reverse while the players are still inside the bus, which is a tactic allegedly assigned to them by their preferred sorcerer.
He also revealed how some team managers are ordered by the sorcerer to cleanse the playing ground with cremated water at night or bring parts of dead animals for positive results ahead of must-win fixtures.
In a separate interview, another player exposed they are not allowed to exchange nor give away their training kits while at the same time borrowing one’s jersey or playing boots during an important fixture which could be a must-win.
“We are not allowed to give out our boots to anyone nor the training kit and jersey you just don’t know who is out to harm you with their practices and beliefs,” he said.
The Congo sorcerer is also said to give certain players a powder-like substance or cloth to wear while playing a crucial game so as to win or score an important goal in exchange for money, blood be it human or animal or anything that they may agree with the juju man.
Top officials and players playing in the national team have also been implicated and linked to engaging in such beliefs and practices with players of the said team paranoid, choosing to remain silent on the said issue.
“You will not realise unless you are keen because some even pretend to pray while they are not, they are just flinging around their ‘jujus’ to either favour them individually or as a team because you must also understand there are different types of ‘juju’,” he said.
Another player who is well known in the football circles, a goalkeeper, is said to be notorious for ‘juju’ smearing the cremated water on the goalpost to prevent goals from going through the goalmouth.
Kenya Premier League Gor Mahia took unorthodox methods in a bid to end their torrid run in the league by visiting the burial site of Gor Obunga, who is said to have been the son of Ogada and was a prominent Luo magician.
With 10 rounds of matches, Gor found themselves in 12th place before the visit with 16 points accumulated leading to extraordinary measures by the club management.
Brazilian forward Wilson Silva went on to score in the final minutes of the game, Gor Mahia claimed a crucial 2-1 win over Kakamega Homeboyz.
Gor went on to win their last seven games, climbing up to fourth on the log from position 12.
In a past interview with the reporter former Harambee Stars and AFC Leopards player and interim coach Anthony Kimani said the rumours have been there for far too long, adding you can’t really point out the players using the said black magic unless you identify yourself with them.
Kimani further discourages players from falling prey to the fantasies of black magic, saying the only route to success is hard work without any shortcuts.
“Yes, the rumours have been there, but I can’t really say a specific player has been engaging in such acts, however, it’s a fallacy to believe in that because the only route to success is you show up and work hard and in the long run it shall yield results,” Kimani said.
Efforts to reach the FKF management proved futile after a number of calls were turned down repeatedly.
East African side Rwanda has since banned witchcraft in football after a bizarre incident in 2016 where Moussa Camara cast a spell on the goalmouth of his opponents, scoring 3 minutes later.
In new measures put in place by the Rwanda Football Federation, players found guilty of practising witchcraft will face a three-match ban and a roughly Sh12,000 fine.
Tacticians who are found guilty of engaging or using ‘juju’ face a four-match ban and a Sh25, 000 fines.
First-division teams found guilty of using witchcraft lose three points in the league’s standings and pay more than Sh64, 000 in fines.
Recently Ghanaian referee Kenny Padi has shockingly claimed that he is now suffering from erection problems since he was awarded a dubious penalty in a top-of-the-table match.
Padi said that his manhood is no longer functioning as expected after he awarded a controversial penalty to Asante Kotoko in their match against Hearts of Oak in the Ghana Premier League.
“I have not had an erection since the day I awarded the penalty against Hearts of Oak and sometimes I get strange and horrific nightmares, I can’t sleep,” Padi said.
On the other hand, its still unclear why witchcraft is deep-rooted and associated with African football, however, there is no scientific way to prove the use of witchcraft or why Africa has no World cup in its trophy cabinet.