What started as a normal day in training ended with a trip to jail and two goals in his next match for Ilombe Mboyo. The player was arrested after he refused to show his papers to the police officers who were conducting an identity check last Friday. He was released the next morning and the player went on to score two goals for his side KAA Gent on the same day.
Mboyo’s on-court skills have earned him a huge following over the past couple of season, but there are still many who remember his past in prison where he spent seven years on charges of rape.
One day before the game against the Mons , the player decided to go to celebrate in the African district of the Belgian capital. It was an ordinary night in a bar where drinks came and went while the music sounded all that day. There were a couple of details that Mboyo forgot that evening, the first being that the Brussels government is very strict about individuals with illegal immigration status, for which there are constant raids and checking that all relevant documentation. The second was his identification which stayed home that occasion.
The police reached the spot where the player was celebrating and when confronted to request the documents, the player did not obey the orders without question and armed a rampage that ended with Mboyo in the back of a patrol. The authorities took him to a holding cell where he remained that night and most of the next day.
After seven years he spent in prison, being locked in the cells of a police station was not much to Mboyo, but still he had to play the next day at 6:00 pm.
The moment came, the player was released and no time went to Gent which is 45 minutes from Brussels. Once arrived at Jules Ottenstadion, the striker started the game and by the end of the first half, he added two goals more in his account and KAA Gent went on to book their tickets to the Europa League.