Skip to main content

EYE ON THE MEDIA: GOR MAHIA'S CORONATION


Real champs
"Bandari are surely the real league champs" writes Philip Onyango in the Daily Nation on Monday 27th May,2019, "I want to boast here that Bandari, who on Sunday sealed the second place in the log, are my 2018/2019 SportPesa Premier League champions". What is Philip's major contention? Well, they (Bandari) traveled the furthest to honour their league fixtures. He writes, "Bandari, at the furthest end of the country, had to travel over 1,000 kilometres week in week out for the congested fixtures which apart from claiming several players through injury as was the case just before the mid-season, also left the playing unit and technical bench fatigued. So, you see Philip thinks that the team that travels the longest distance to honour their fixtures should be the one that wins the title. Nowhere else in the world (Not even in Guatemala ) do we have such a system. But this is not even his major contention. He seems to agree with The Standard's Gilbert Wandera who also explored this topic in an article titled "Was Gor Mahia favoured in Title Chase?"
But it was Bernard Mwalala who sparked this controversy. The little known Bandari FC manager who is yet to win a major trophy in his managerial career but has been named in some quarters as Africa's next managerial star, is yet to learn how to concede defeat. He claims that Gor Mahai were helped in their title push by the fact that they were not required to honour their fixtures at some (substandard) venues like the Green Stadium in Awendo, Chemelil Sports Complex and the Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega. Mwalala contents that had Gor Mahia played at these (garden-like) grounds they could have dropped some points and maybe - just maybe - his Bandari side could have emerged champions. A lot of 'if's and maybe's, but no hard facts. The fact of the matter, however, is that Gor Mahia played at these grounds in 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons and still emerged champions.
Poor Coronation
"Gor Mahia officials have absolved themselves from blame regarding the lacklustre 2018-2019 SportPesa Premier League trophy presentation ceremony on Saturday at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos" Celestine Olilo wrote for The Daily Nation on 27th May. "Football Kenya Federation officials led by president Nick Mwendwa snubbed the event, with sources indicating that they had not been invited," She writes. Well, from who exactly did Nick Mwendwa want an invitation? From Gor Mahia? This was not a Gor Mahia event. It's not up to the champions to present themselves with the trophy! "Wasteful Gor Mahia coronation day spoilt by Posta Rangers." is the title to an article by Fred Maingi on www.kurunzi.co.ke but he writes nothing about how wasteful Gor Mahia were and nothing about how spoilt the coronation was. Instead he writes, "Posta’s chance to wrap up the game was wasted by Felix Ochieng who blasted over the bar with a yawning net beckoning." and then, "Felix Oluoch also got a chance to hand Rangers the lead late on but he had a poor touch that....". Wait, who were wasteful, again? I thought the title indicated it was Gor Mahia... Maingi then goes on makes another howler, "Following the draw, Gor are now on 32 points, [and] need at least a point in the final match to ensure they won’t be among the bottom two." What??


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

20 LINGALA WORDS YOU SHOULD KNOW THEIR MEANINGS

Over the last couple of years the Lingala language has gained and continues to gain unprecedented popularity in Kenya . Many Kenyans now can speak fluent Lingala. Some even sing in the langauge! I'm talking about Papa Fololo, Igwe Prezda Bandasson, Awilo Mike of Jamnazi Africa, Fofona Bangali and myself, just to name but a few. Part of the reason for this popularity is: Lingala is easy to learn (For Lingala-Swahili similarities, click here ). I mean, it is ridiculously easy. So easy, in fact, it takes just a few months. Forget about the Lingala you hear in songs that's bedeviled with iterations of Lingalized French (Hahah, what does that even mean?). I'm talking about Lingala in its purest form here, the one not polluted with foreign languages. Well, before I bore you to death with detail, I'm happy to present you here with 20 popular lingala words and phrases I thought you could be interested in knowing their meaning. Let's get right into it, shall we? 1. Bolingo...
86 comments
Read more

5 POPULAR LINGALA PHRASES EVERY RUMBA LOVER MUST KNOW

Lingala is probably the fastest growing indigenous African language largely due to Congolese music (Rumba, soukous, chatchto and the like). Some of the greatest composers and singers in Africa have sung in this language producing some renown hit songs that have dominated the African airwaves for decades while introducing some endearing phrases and catchphrases that never just never fade from our collective memory. Lingala is reputed as Africa's most romantic language and it has surely lived up to this reputation. Lingala phrases are a pure joy to listen to, especially when you understand them. Some of these phrases are priceless pieces of wisdom while some overflow with sardonic humor and wit. But one thing is for sure, these phrases are simply unforgettable, for one reason or another. Maybe it's because we tend to be fascinated with exotic languages and ideas. Or maybe, the Congolese people are just damn good at composing music. Either way, their singing, their music and mann...
4 comments
Read more

LINGALA - SWAHILI SIMILARITIES

Lingala and Swahili are both in the Bantu group of languages spoken in East and Central Africa. Lingala is  spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C) where it serves as the lingua franca of the region. It is a common misconception that Lingala is spoken only in D.R.C. In fact, Lingala is also spoken in large parts of the Republic of the Congo, Angola and the Central African Republic. Swahili on the other hand is spoken mainly in East Africa and some parts of Southern Africa. This article aims to explore some etymological similarities between Lingala and Swahili words. Even though the similarity between these two languages is much broader and goes beyond the scope of this article (and includes phonological, syntax and etymological similarities), the face-value similarities is a good place to start our investigation. For example, the simple fact that these two languages fall in the same language group suggests a close relationship. Agai...
1 comment
Read more