NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 30 – Football Stakeholders in the country have called for an urgent and sober resolution to the current impasse surrounding the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) elections which have been twice quashed by the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT).
The initial polls scheduled last year were cancelled by the John Ohaga led tribunal over an improper electoral code and what the tribunal termed as an irregularly constituted electoral board.
The Federation went back to the drawing board to right the wrongs pointed out by the tribunal and organized fresh elections last month.
While all the processes were ticked on by the tribunal in the second hearing, an issue was raised over the eligibility rules in the electoral code which was said to be discriminative and tailored to fit the incumbent, Nick Mwendwa, the elections being trashed again.
On the second bite of the cherry, Ohaga had written to FIFA asking for the formation of a normalization committee with only Mwendwa and Secretary General Barry Otieno in office with the rest of the executive shown the door.
But FIFA in a response last week stated the status quo will remain while talks will be organized between Mwendwa, Ohaga and Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed to find a lasting solution.
While the wait for the talks continues, stakeholders in the country have called for an urgent solution to the impasse, each asking for a sober solution to shield Kenya from any potential sanctions from the world governing body.
“For sure FIFA will ban Kenya if we do not follow their directive. We have no choice but to do what they have asked. That will not be the best thing for us at this time because we will have nothing to play for. Some officials do not care whether we are banned or not as they only concerned about their own interest,” Sofapaka owner Elly Kalekwa said, in a message amplified by several KPL clubs.
The same sentiments were shared by National Super League clubs and referees most of who are affiliated to FIFA.
“The biggest stakeholder is the player. Unfortunatley, if this stand-off is not resolved amicably, they will suffer in terms of loss of income and annulment of contracts. Football requires stability to attract sponsors and anything that disrupts such stability we must resist,” said Johnstone Sakwa, the NSL governing council chair.
