Harambee Stars stranded in South Africa

The Kenya men’s national football team, Harambee Stars are stranded in Johannesburg, South Africa due to the ongoing strike of workers at JKIA Airport in Nairobi, Kenya.

The team was scheduled to depart from Johannesburg at 12 PM South African time to return home after their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier victory against Namibia.

Harambee Stars coach Engin Firat reads riot act after going nine months without salary

The squad has been informed that their flight has been rescheduled to 5 PM but the timing will be dependant on whether the situation at JKIA will return to normalcy.

On Wednesday 11 September, staffers at JKIA downed their tools following a planned takeover by an Indian company, Andani Group Holdings of the airport.

According to the takeover, the Adani Group is set to take over JKIA for 30 years which left the airport staffers disgruntled due to reported job losses.

The Law Society of Kenya and the Kenya Human Rights Commission have joined the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) in criticising the deal.

Engin Firat's motivation to players that fired Harambee Stars to victory against Namibia

Kenya played the game in South Africa due to Namibia lacking a CAF-approved stadium with the Southern Africa nation opting to stage the game in Johannesburg.

Harambee Stars were also in a similar situation last week when they were forced to host their qualifier against Zimbabwe in Uganda due to the lack of a CAF-approved stadium.