Extra security measures in place for city derby
The Nairobi police division has stepped up security measures for this weekend’s city derby featuring AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia.
There will be a special unit to handle frisking at the Nyayo National Stadium entry points, dogs trained to sniff out explosives and 300 administration police inside and around the match venue.
Officers from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) have also been incorporated in the elaborate security plan aimed at ensuring maximum security for the fans especially following last week’s terrorist attack in Garissa that left 148 people dead and several others injured.
This new security plan will cost host team AFC Leopards a little over Shs100, 000 and the club Organizing Secretary Timothy Lilumbi told the Daily Nation Sport that the club has agreed to “go the extra mile” due to the prevailing security threat facing the country.
“We have held lengthy meetings through the week and we have drawn up an elaborate security plan to help diffuse any danger, real or imagined, posed to the fans and players,” Lilumbi said.
“Unlike last year, we have decided to call in a special police unit whose work will be to handle frisking at the gates and we have agreed to bankroll the additional expense involved due to the current situation,” he added.
VIOLENCE AND CROWD TROUBLE
Matches featuring the two teams are infamous for violence and crowd trouble with a few fatal incidents reported in the recent years.
In this regard, the Kenyan Premier League has said that there will be heavy repercussions for the club that instigates any form of violence before, during or after the match.
“Both clubs have agreed to keep their fans in check so that the game is not overshadowed by off-pitch negativity. The club that fails to meet these expectations will be sanctioned,” said KPL CEO Jack Oguda.
Match tickets will go on sale on Sunday with VIP tickets retailing at Sh600 and those for the terraces going for Sh200.
On Friday, officials from the two clubs together with those from KPL will hold a security meeting chaired by the Langata Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) and the county’s CID head at the match venue at 11am to finalize the security arrangements.
Meanwhile, in a bid to lure fans into the stadium, the Leopards’ administration has hired a bus that will make rounds across the city center on Friday and Saturday to encourage fans to turn up for the match in large numbers.