Chaotic qualifier, Emperor Selassie and diplomacy through football

Harambee Stars defender Jonathan Niva (right) is seen here nurturing young football talent in this undated picture. PHOTO | FILE |

What you need to know:

  • Hooliganism erupts in Addis as Kenya and Ethiopia are playing for a slot in 1972 Afcon but the Emperor’s swift intervention saves the day, ensuring good diplomatic relations between the two neighbouring countries

On November 30, 1970, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia sent a diplomatic cable to President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya saying that he was “deeply apologetic” and “deeply disturbed” over the events surrounding an African Nations qualifying football match between Kenya and his country in Addis Ababa the previous day.

To show that he meant what he said, the Emperor requested the Kenya team to postpone their departure and share a cup of tea with him in his palace.

During the tea, each player was given a banquet of flowers by the Prime Minister, Aklilu Habte-Wold, as a gesture of sincere regret at the incident.

(Whatever the significance, Addis Ababa means “new flower”).

Next, on the evening the team touched down in Nairobi, the Ethiopian Ambassador to Kenya met Kenya’s Foreign Minister, Dr Njoroge Mungai to restate the Emperor’s apology on behalf of his government.

The genuine contriteness and rapid response of the Ethiopians had Dawson Mlamba, permanent secretary in Kenya’s ministry of foreign affairs, saying relations between the two countries were at their strongest ever. He reiterated that they would not in any way be affected by what had happened.
So, what had happened?

Football passions had boiled over. Kenya and Ethiopia were playing for a slot in the 1972 Africa Nations Cup in Cameroon. In Nairobi one week previously, the Kenyans had beaten their visitors 2-0 in a convincing performance. Now, in the return, with 60 minutes played, Ugandan referee Malik Rajab awarded the dominating Kenyans a penalty kick which overlapping defender Jonathan Niva duly slotted home.

HELL BROKE LOOSE

That is when all hell broke loose. Spectators descended on the pitch with sticks and stones and made for any Kenyan on sight. The players received severe beatings.

Even some policemen joined in and the Kenyans feared they were not going to make it out of the stadium alive. With the exception of forward Livingstone Madegwa and reserve goalkeeper George Muriuki, every Kenyan player and member of the technical bench was assaulted. And so was the referee and his assistants, all Ugandans.

Every Kenyan player had a tale of woe. Defender Steve Yongo spoke of the dilemma the Kenyans faced when calm at last had been restored: “Six of our players were required to stay on at the police hospital. But how could we accept medical attention when the police on the field themselves beat us up?” Still, the Kenyans went there for medical attention; they were too helpless to have any say on the matter.

John Nyawanga, the captain, was the first to get hit when spectators invaded the pitch after Niva’s penalty. “I am happy that we all got out of that place in one piece,” he said. “There was a time that didn’t seem possible.”

Eckhardt Krautzun, the German tactician in charge of the Kenyans, nursed a swollen bruise at the back of his head. When he returned to Nairobi, he said: “This is the worst I have seen in coaching in many, many countries. The fans behaved like wild animals. That is the only term I can use to describe their behaviour. I instructed my boys to keep their cool. This they did. Our players had not been rough and it is obvious that the fans reacted violently simply because they could not accept defeat. Had the match not been abandoned when we were leading 1-0, we would have won by a much bigger margin.”

KEPT TOGETHER

In those early years of the national team, players were notorious for their tribalism on the pitch. The worked hard to find their tribesmen with their passes and there isn’t that much that foreign coaches could do. It went on until the advent of Marshall Mulwa in 1980.

Now, in the aftermath of the mayhem in Addis Ababa, defender Samson Odore could tell reporters with a straight face: “In past years, there has been a lot of friction between Luo and Abaluhya players during internationals. On Sunday, for the first time, we fought to save our colleagues – not considering whether we were from the same tribe or not. They came for us in the hundreds, but even though we were so few, we managed to survive because we kept together.”

One of the newly inducted players in the squad was Jackson Aluko of Gor Mahia. In those days, Ethiopia used to host an invitational tournament called the Friendship Cup. Pointing to his bandages, Aluko vowed: “If Kenya decide to travel to Addis Ababa next year for the Friendship Cup, I will not travel with them.”

Goalkeeper James Siang’a, who had turned out for Kenya since independence, had seen much during those seven years but nothing on this scale.

He said: “I have played in Ethiopia on six different occasions. There have been troubles in the past. This is part of soccer. But Sunday’s incident was by far the worst I have experienced in my international career.”

SPENT NIGHT IN HOSPITAL

He, along with reserve defender Paul Ndula and referee Rajab, had spent the night in hospital. Rajab needed a further stay when the Kenyans departed.

Emperor Haile Selassie personally paid him a visit. Many players spotted bandages on their heads, hands and legs. They walked with a limp. Nyawanga had a deep cut below his right eye.

Huddled in their hotel in Addis Ababa and preparing to depart and too unnerved to even contemplate a good meal, the delegation received a visit from Mr Peter Echaria, the Kenyan Ambassador to Ethiopia.

He is the one who persuaded them to take it easy and accept the apology of the Ethiopian Government and the Ethiopian Football Federation and go for tea with the Emperor. In a joint communiqué, Mr Echaria and the Ethiopian Minister for Information regretted the incident.

Mr Echaria later said: “All the injured players received prompt medical attention at the hospital. They were well looked after and we have no complaints regarding this. I am glad the team will stay on and leave on the scheduled date.”

He had been among the dignitaries ensconced in the VIP box when the mayhem erupted.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Football Federation appeared to be speaking from both sides of the mouth. It released a statement “deeply regretting the incident” and noting that it was “the first time something as ugly as this had happened in 30 years. It has soiled the name of Ethiopian football.”

But then the statement went further to explain that “some sections of the crowd appeared to be incensed by the referee’s decision which, the fans felt, was biased. Emotions reached a climax when Mr Rajab (the referee) awarded a second-half penalty to Kenya which resulted in a goal. Kenya’s time-wasting tactics further aggravated the crowd.”

Back in safe territory in Nairobi, coach Krautzun could afford to look ahead: “If we go on playing the way we are, we are definitely going to qualify for the finals in Cameroon.”

On that score he knew what he was talking about. Before the first leg, he had established a training camp at the high altitude Thompson Falls town, now Nyahururu.

He had clamped down on visits and imposed an austere discipline in the team. When Kenya whipped Ethiopia in the first leg, the Nation crowed: “Coach Eckhardt Krautzun’s training tonic has had such a revitalising effect on Kenya’s international football hangover that Kenyan players may be drinking champagne from the Africa Cup of Nations trophy after next year’s final."

“It was not just the convincing score-line in this first round, first leg tie at the Nairobi City Stadium yesterday. It was not the fact that this was Kenya’s first victory in five international fixtures in 12 months. It was the way Krautzun transformed East Africa’s ugly soccer toads into the handsome princes of soccer.”

Kenya were on a roll. The talk from that time was winning the Nation’s Cup. Ethiopia were duly punished by the Confederation of Africa football by fine and by forfeiture of the match.

Kenya’s next stop was Madagascar, through whom they cruised just as easily. By the time the trip to Cameroon was beckoning, Masinde Muliro, the Minister for Culture and Social Services, was talking nothing less than victory.

Krautzun would soon leave the team for Malaysia, handing over the reins to Jonathan Niva who acted as both player and coach. But the foundation had been laid. The prevalent talk of bringing the Nation’s Cup to Nairobi was premature, and has become a beautiful mirage ever since, but the Kenyans acquitted themselves honourably.

Meanwhile, the good diplomatic relations between Kenya and Ethiopia, anchored in the personal friendship between their ageing leaders, went on as if the Addis Ababa bedlam had never happened. They remain good – up to this day.