Two Somali minors who were filmed stepping on the Kenyan flag at Nyayo Stadium during a match have been granted cash bail of Sh50,000 each.
The 14- and 17-year-olds face charges of illegally entering the country, damaging a national symbol of unity — the Kenyan flag — and causing a disturbance.

They have not yet pleaded to the charges, however. This follows the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) informing the court that its probation inquiry report is not yet ready.

The minors were arrested on September 25 after a viral video showing two football fans desecrating the flag after a match between Mogadishu FC and Kenya Police.

In the footage, supporters were seen stomping, kicking, and tossing the flag, with one individual rubbing it against his crotch and another, dressed in a Somali sarong, grabbing it from a Police FC fan before throwing it down.

Last week, the two minors, appeared before the Milimani Children’s Court but did not take a plea after the prosecution indicated that no documents had been filed to confirm their ages.

The Children’s Office in Eastleigh had not prepared the required social inquiry report.

“The plea should be deferred to allow an age assessment and social inquiry report to be filed before the matter proceeds,” prosecutor Leah Ngatia told the court.

Ngatia requested the court to order an age assessment and keep the teenagers in a government facility until the reports are filed, arguing that the offences were serious and custody would serve their best interests during investigations.

Defence counsel Ishmael Nyaribo did not oppose the deferment but objected to holding the minors at Kamiti Youth Facility.

He argued it would be “a mistake” to expose them to hardened offenders, urging that they be released to their relatives or, if custody was necessary, placed in a child-friendly environment such as Gigiri Police Station or under community care.

“These are not children we can put in the line of criminality,” Nyaribo said.

“The children may have gone to the extreme in stepping on the Kenyan flag, and while that is unacceptable, they must be corrected properly since they are still kids.”

The two minors will now be presented before the court on October 8 for further directions.