The lakeside city of Kisumu has for the last two weeks witnessed what has come to be known as a 'green invasion', when the Gor Mahia football club was in town.
The team's presence over the weekend to play their last match saw thousands of fans stream to the city in buses and private vehicles, singing and chanting the team's slogan.
The fanaticism and fanfare left residents yearning for more of such days, with businesses operating 24 hours to satisfy supporters who had travelled from as far as Mombasa, Nairobi, Nakuru and Eldoret.
Leaders are now calling for more Gor Mahia matches to be played in Kisumu to spur its economy. The 'Green Army', who never shy away from controversy, cheered their team to lift the coveted Kenya Premier League title for the second year in a row.
They then thronged the city's eateries and night clubs to celebrate their team's glory. The fear by some business owners of possible hooliganism and looting drove them to close early.
But when all was well after a 3-0 thumping of Ushuru FC, most business remained open until the wee hours of the morning. Most supermarkets also remained open for two days as the fans streamed in to buy various commodities. "We rarely make such amounts in one day.
I wish business was like this every day," said a teller at Nakumatt Supermarket. See Also: Wetangula discharged from hospital following fatigue
There were traffic snarl-ups for the better part of Saturday, while on Sunday, over 2,000 fans congregated at the Jomo Kenyatta sports grounds, where they queued and took baths in turns before leaving the city.
It costs Sh20 for a shower and caretakers at the public bathrooms claimed Gor Mahia fans spent over Sh40,000 at the facility, an amount never seen there before.
RITUAL BATHING
However, not everything went smoothly as some fans proceeded to Lake Victoria and bathed in the full glare of customers eating at the nearby Lwang'ni Beach restaurants.
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