Resurfaced clips fuel anger after Kenya’s 8-0 loss to Senegal

Harambee Stars players huddle in the training ahead of the thrashing by Senegal. (Photo: Harambee Stars)

By Erick Kariuki
Wednesday, November 19, 2025

The defeat marked Kenya’s heaviest loss in nearly half a century, dating back to their 9-0 collapse against Zambia in 1978, and laid bare the gulf in quality between the two national teams.

Hours after Senegal dismantled Harambee Stars with an 8-0 victory, frustration has spilt to social media, with football enthusiasts conducting post-mortems on the heavy defeat.

A clip of Harambee Stars assistant coach Vasili admitting that the friendly request from Senegal “came as a surprise” has resurfaced and is circulating widely.

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In the clip, recorded before Harambee Stars departed for the international friendlies, Vasili was asked how the fixture against Senegal came about.

He responded: “It was a nice surprise for us. We don’t know how or who agreed to the fixture, but we were discussing playing Comoros and Madagascar, and I think things changed with the guys hosting the matches. Then we got Equatorial Guinea, and then, a little later, Senegal was added.”

What went wrong? What could have been? And most importantly, who sanctioned the match? These remain unanswered questions.

Alongside this, another video has re-emerged, captured by Abud Omar, featuring players Marvin Nabwire, Daniel Sakari, Masud Juma and Omar himself, where the group is heard saying “Tutam”, a phrase popularly associated with the current regime to signify “second term”.

These clips, revived in the aftermath of the defeat, have fuelled even more debate online as Kenyans question the team’s preparation, mentality, and overall direction.

Under the resurfaced clip of Harambee Stars players, Kenyans did not hold back in the comments section.

One user wrote: “This is the reason you can't win anything,” attaching an image captioned, “A lot of people become unattractive once you find out how they think.”

Another commented: “The final result of two terms is being beaten by eight goals to nil..? Shame on you. You can’t mix politics and football.”

A sarcastic remark read: “We didn’t lose… we learnt. We learnt eight times!”

Harambee Stars endured a brutal night in Antalya, Turkey, torn apart by a ruthless Senegal side in an international friendly that was anything but friendly.

The defeat marked Kenya’s heaviest loss in nearly half a century, dating back to their 9-0 collapse against Zambia in 1978, and laid bare the gulf in quality between the two national teams.

One X user reminded Kenyans of history, “The defeat to Senegal today is embarrassing. However, our worst international loss was on Jamhuri Day in 1965, when Ghana’s Black Stars beat Harambee Stars 13–2. Ghana were leading 11–0 at half-time. Jomo Kenyatta left before the game ended.”

Worst Harambee Stars defeats in history: