Tusker’s Matano should just get used to being whipped by Gor Mahia  

In Luo mythology, Gor Mahia, the great sorcerer after whom Gor Mahia – the club – is so named, is held in very high esteem. The Luos believe that there has never been a more powerful sorcerer than Gor Mahia.

Legend has it that this great black magician could transform himself whenever he got himself in trouble. He could take the form of a child, an old man or even a woman to hoodwink his detractors.

It is also said that he could cast a similar spell on his enemies to make them completely unrecognisable.

A tale is told of how he once transfigured a boy whose herd of cattle had strayed into his farm and feasted on his crops.

When word of Gor Mahia’s transgression reached the boy family, they armed themselves and set out to the magician’s homestead on a mission of vengeance.   

But they never caught up with Gor Mahia. The wily sorcerer had longed transformed himself into an old herdsman.

The charged lynch mob that was baying for Gor Mahia’s blood actually chanced upon the haggard herdsman, but the old man misdirected them and they completely lost track of the black magician. Gor Mahia lived to see many more days.

Yet, among Luo historians, opinion remains divided on whether Gor Mahia indeed possessed such supernatural powers. Some argue that Gor Mahia was merely an illusionist with the uncanny ability to make people around him see things that were unreal.  

So sometime last week, when Tusker FC head coach Robert Matano went public with a litany of complaints against Gor Mahia ahead of their league showdown, I couldn’t help but wonder if this otherwise highly decorated coach was merely seeing unreal things.

Matano’s gripe was that in all the recent meetings between the two clubs, Gor Mahia have been the beneficiaries of suspect officiating and that in a properly officiated match his boys would whip K’Ogalo all day long.

With four league titles under his belt, Matano is peerless in the Kenyan Premier League. Matano is also infamous for being overly abrasive, outspoken and many other things that I choose not to mention here.

But boy, doesn’t it take some guts to dare Gor Mahia to a bare-knuckled brawl. See, when you play against Gor Mahia, you play against more than just the eleven men on the pitch.

In the buildup to the match you will get an earful from their unapologetic fans on social media. Then come the match day the sledging will go a notch higher, on and off the pitch.

Well, Matano is a man who loves a good fight and he knew just how much gutted Gor Mahia and its legion of boisterous fans would be when he threw down the gauntlet.

And what better way to set the stage perfectly for a such a high stakes match than getting under your opponent’s skin?

Saturday afternoon came and Matano finally got his wish for a fight, but he was quickly dispatched with a bloody nose.

Post-match, typical of the man, Matano grumbled about a penalty decision that was not award.

Gor oksiem! (You don’t dare Gor Mahia). That’s how one fan summed it up. I hope the message is now clear to Matano.