Kenya’s Harambee Stars are preparing for their next African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2024 Group A match amid a ticketing controversy that has drawn attention across the country.
Ahead of the first match against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on 3 March 2025, all 48,000 tickets for the Kasarani International Stadium in Nairobi were reportedly sold out a week before kickoff.
The packed stadium was meant to provide a home advantage as Kenya faced the two-time CHAN champions.
However, allegations quickly emerged online claiming that senior government officials had purchased tickets to distribute to supporters of the Kenya Kwanza government, allegedly to curb anti-government chants such as “wantam.”
Videos circulated showing politicians displaying card tickets, fuelling public suspicion.
Nicholas Musonye, chairman of the Kenya Organizing Committee (LOC), denied the claims on NTV’s Fixing The Nation show.
“This issue does not exist,” he said, insisting the ticketing process was fair.
Despite assurances, chaos unfolded during subsequent matches. In the Kenya-Angola match, 46,520 fans attended, while over 75,000 reportedly tried to enter the Morocco match, despite only 25,000 tickets being scanned.
Fans pushed through gates and even broke them down, creating serious security concerns.
In response, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) imposed a 40 percent reduction in stadium capacity for the final Group A match, limiting attendance from 48,000 to 27,000.
This followed a 2.5 million shilling fine earlier for violating CAF’s Disciplinary and Security Codes.
Tickets for the reduced-capacity match sold out within four hours of the online release, but fans continue to seek alternative ways to gain entry. Some have reported buying tickets outside Kasarani for Sh250 or using duplicated tickets, exploiting loopholes in stadium entry.
Nicholas Musonye warned of further consequences if fans failed to comply with regulations.
“If fans do not follow the rules on Sunday, there is a possibility that Kenya will miss out on hosting the quarter-final match.
This will be a loss for all of us… it may even affect the upcoming African Nations Championship (AFCON) 2027,” he said.
Authorities also uncovered a fraudulent website, chan.mookh.com, which was selling fake tickets, highlighting the ongoing challenges in managing large-scale football events in the country.
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