Ex-Harambee Stars Goalkeeper Patrick Matasi Opens Up on Suicide Attempt After Match-Fixing Suspension

Former Harambee Stars goalkeeper Patrick Matasi has opened up about the difficult period following his suspension from football, revealing how he became isolated at home, struggled to afford food and, at one point, contemplated taking his own life.

Matasi spoke about the ordeal during an interview on Friday, September 18, 2026, more than a year after Football Kenya Federation (FKF) provisionally suspended him over match-fixing allegations.

His account comes during September’s Suicide Prevention Month and shortly after World Suicide Prevention Day, which was marked on September 10 under the 2026 theme, “Changing the Narrative on Suicide.”

A locked door, an unanswered phone and a week without food

For Matasi, the crisis began with him withdrawing almost completely from the world around him after his suspension.

He said he locked himself inside his house on March 27, 2025, switching off his phone and spending his days asleep as he struggled to deal with what had happened to his career.

“Since March 27, I locked myself inside the house. I used to sleep during the day. I was not watching movies or doing anything,” Matasi recalled.

As his isolation continued, even eating became difficult. Matasi said he went for almost a week without food, remaining inside the house while cutting himself off from communication.

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“I had gone almost a week without eating. I had switched off my phone and I was just staying inside the house,” he said.

His account then took a darker turn when the former goalkeeper revealed that his thoughts had moved beyond simply withdrawing from people.

“I did not want to talk about it. I felt that if I did not commit suicide, then I would die the death God had planned for me,” Matasi said.

His mother’s prayer interrupted a desperate moment

April 5 became a defining day in Matasi’s account.He said he had reached a point where he was about to act on his suicidal thoughts when he heard his biological mother praying outside his door.

“On the day I woke up, I was just about to put it in my mouth when I heard my biological mother praying at the door,” he recalled.

For someone who had spent days deliberately shutting himself away, his mother’s presence became an unexpected interruption at a critical moment.

“I had locked myself in the house, but my mother coming changed everything,” Matasi said.

Match-fixing allegations left Matasi’s career in limbo

Matasi’s emotional ordeal followed a major disruption to his football career.

FKF provisionally suspended him in March 2025 after a video circulated online that allegedly showed him discussing a deal to manipulate a match. Matasi denied involvement in match-fixing.

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Before the controversy, he had established himself as one of Kenya’s leading goalkeepers and was part of the Harambee Stars side that competed at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, starting all three group matches.

He later challenged FKF’s disciplinary action in court, but his petition was struck out, leaving him away from competitive football as the dispute continued.

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FKF President Hussein Mohammed while appearing before the Departmental Committee on Sports and Culture in Parliament Buildings on May 5,2026 PHOTO/FILE