Shabana FC settled with a 4-2 win over debutants APS Bomet at the Gusii Stadium on Sunday, reflecting a good start for the 2025/26 Kenyan Premier League campaign.
Amid celebrations for an exemplary start, the team is facing online backlash after widespread video clips showed a group of fans accused others of wearing counterfeit jerseys and forced them to surrender their shirts, going so far as stripping some bare and setting the disputed T-shirts ablaze.
The act carried out by a few individuals associated with Shabana was termed as not only unnecessary but also shameful.
Capelo Andrew Osuro Amba on facebook wrote, “Sina Uwezo wa Ku raise 1,800 ya original tishat ya Shabana nika afford ya 500 but mukani peleka kando nikaona big boys with muscles nika toa shati nika rudi home bila nguo ‘’
Shabana official jersey costs between Ksh 1,800 and 2,000.
James Ogaya Sudhe on Facebook also wrote, “Shabana FC have done that thing. People think curses come in some specific ways. Tell me, how do you gain fan support if you undress and burn their generic jerseys?” Even in the medical world we have generic drugs just to cater to different backgrounds; our fingers can never be the same, trust me. Shabana is losing it here.’’
The video clip circulating on social media shows a tense scene where a cluster of Shabana fans are confronting fellow supporters, claiming their jerseys are fake. Some of the accused removed their shirts under pressure, while others, allegedly in the same uniforms, stood by.
Ultimately, several T-shirts were thrown onto small fires and burnt.
The burning of alleged counterfeit T-shirts may reflect passionate loyalty to Shabana FC and raise pressing questions about legality, ethics, and fan culture.
As the debate intensifies, many are urging a path that balances pride with respect for property, for rights, and for the community.
Legal Consequences
In the dramatic scene, Shabana FC risks lawsuits and liability if it unilaterally confiscates and burns fans’ jerseys. The lawful and ethical path is reporting, education, and incentives, not forceful seizure.
In property rights of fans, a supporter buys a jersey; even if it turns out to be counterfeit, it becomes their private property. The club or management has no legal right to confiscate or destroy someone else’s property without consent or a court order.
If a club suspects counterfeit merchandise, they should report it to authorities, not seize or burn items themselves. Burning items in public can also pose health and safety hazards and sometimes violates local environmental laws in that authorities such as NEMA will get work to do because the clips have exposed the suspects openly with valid evidence.
Fans who were stripped naked may enjoy legal protection, and the law now warns that forcibly stripping people of their clothing and burning property without consent may expose the perpetrators, whether individuals or organized fan groups, to civil claims of property damage, assault, or public nuisance.
