Eric Obura (left), Sammy Sholei (centre) and Dan Shikanda when they announced their candidatures for the FKF Polls on September 23, 2015 in Nairobi. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya.
NAIROBI, September 23- Re-instated Football Kenya Federation vice-president and retired international, Sammy Sholei, will run against his boss, Sam Nyamweya in the forthcoming polls after he formally declared his candidature in Nairobi on Wednesday.
Sholei will contest on a joint-ticket with fellow former internationals, Nairobi Representative, Dr. Dan Shikanda who’s suspension from football was also lifted during the August 28 FKF Annual General Meeting and Eric Obura as they seek to contest on a platform of bringing change in a game whose fortunes have plummeted.
The former Tusker FC midfielder joins FKF-Premier League chairman, Nick Mwendwa, former Gor Mahia forward, Ken Oliech and Gor Semelang’o, a former boss of the National Youth Fund in the race to oust Nyamweya during the November 13 national polls.
“Having been overwhelmingly elected as deputy president of Football Kenya Federations during the 2011 Elections, I was denied the mandate to roll out my vision when Nyamweya, engineered my suspension from football soon after.
“However, with his term soon coming to an end, I once again put forward my candidature and it is my belief I can right the wrongs of the past four years in a game that is the most popular sport yet most inefficiently managed in the country,” Sholei, who was suspended from all football activities for six years before the ban was lifted, said in a statement.
Sholei, who only enjoyed three months in power, believes he is the change that Kenyan football enthusiasts need as he accused the current office of corruption and poor management.
“The greatest motivation behind my candidature is to ensure the game often labelled as opium of the masses is used to foster national cohesion, engage youth in meaningful activity by giving them a livelihood and above all, ensure our nation is not left behind the global multibillion dollar boom.
“One of the biggest failures of the current and past regimes is to attract Government and private investment in the sport owning to inept management and widespread corruption owing to running the federation as a fiefdom,” the 48-year-old who also featured Rivatex FC underlined.
Sholei will be seeking to oust Nyamweya after stepping down for Hussein Mohammed in the 2011 elections where the Extreme Sports Super 8 boss was floored by the incumbent.
His ban was reversed by Sports Tribunal in August after the jury ruled the manner in which the federation and its president, Sam Nyamweya went about undertaking disciplinary measures was “fundamentally flawed and harsh.”
Shikanda, a former Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards player will be hoping to return to football management after he was suspended from his Nairobi seat.
The branch elections are scheduled for October 29 before branches elect delegates for the national exercise on November 5.
