October 24 – Kenyan political and football commentator Francis Gaitho was arrested Tuesday night at the house that he was staying in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.
Gaitho was later released Wednesday without being charged.
A fierce critic of FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino’s manipulation of Africa and its member nations for their own political agenda, as well as of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), and its president Patrice Motsepe, Gaitho has frequently found himself similarly under fire from those institutions and multiple attempts to gag and discredit him.
He has been similarly critical of the sport and the national federation in his own country which has flirted with having a FIFA normalisation committee being imposed on it after government sports officials intervened in the running of the federation. The federation separately has frequently been subject to allegations of match-fixing and manipulation at the hands of betting companies who were its main income stream.
Gaitho’s fearlessness and strong belief that football is a lifeline for social good rather than the personal advancement of its officials made him a marked man.
His commentary in the wider Kenyan political arena has been similarly fierce and now, personally dangerous.
Kenya, previously one of the most stable democracies in East Africa, in recent months has seen a growing protest movement against president William Ruto’s and his United Democratic Alliance governing party.
Ruto was elected on a platform of bringing economic relief to Kenyans, and although the country has one of the region’s most developed economies, 63% of its population live below the international poverty line.
Ruto’s problem is that the country has $82 billion of debt but servicing it ate up 69.6% of domestic revenues as of June 2024.
In June Ruto was forced to abandon a tax hike on good goods that would have hit the poor harder than the rich. This sparked a peaceful protest movement amongst young people in the country that rapidly grew and of which Gaitho was an outspoken supporter.
His arrest highlights the personal danger he is in and a perceived threat not just to his liberty but to his life.
Doubtless there are many people at the very top of FIFA and CAF football who will not be too concerned about the plight of Gaitho.
But there is a mass of people below them – people in football, media and general public – who are concerned for the safety of one of Africa’s bravest voices.
They are all watching – both Kenya’s authorities and football’s global and African leadership.
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