NAIROBI, Kenya, August 4 – Sports cabinet secretary nominee Kipchumba Murkomen has vowed to ensure that sports administrators who have served for more than eight years in various federations relinquish their positions.
While appearing for vetting before the National Assembly on Saturday evening, the immediate former Cabinet Secretary for Roads said his first order of business if approved will be to weed out administrators who have overstayed their mandate.
“” I am going to request those people who have served for more than eight years in sports federations to recuse themselves and give an opportunity to those with energy to serve in those federations,” he said.
Pointing accusing fingers at Football Kenya Federation (FKF), Athletics Kenya (AK) and Kenya Swimming Federation, Murkomen warned of dire measures against federations that do not toe the line.
“We will not finance any sports federation that does not adhere to the Sports Act and does not conduct regular elections. We must also audit the finances of such federations and will involve the Ethics and Anticorruption Commission (EACC). We will also involve DCI if we must. They cannot say that the money they receive from their world bodies cannot be subjected to audit. I am not an easy person to play with,” Murkomen added.
He added: “The place that has to start is sports management…and for this purpose, football. It is not right that for the last eight years you have an organisation with a leadership in office that has not been elected but they are there in perpetuity.”
The CS nominee also bemoaned the misuse of courts by the culprits to maintain their stranglehold on their positions in the federation.
“It’s not just FKF, but also AK (Athletics Kenya)…they have been there for the last 12 years without an election. Cricket, also the same…badminton and swimming…the same. We have a serious problem when it comes to sports management in this country,” he said.
Murkomen added: “What is there is a collaboration between these officials and the courts. If you look into why AK have never held an election, it’s because they perpetuate themselves using a court order. That is the same thing FKF are doing. The first thing I will do is to bring all the stakeholders together within the first month to have a conversation on how we will turn around sports.”
He promised to hold a meeting with Chief Justice Martha Koome to ensure expeditious resolution of such court cases.
If approved, Murkomen will succeed former Budalangi legislator Ababu Namwamba who was not reinstated to the cabinet, following the earlier dissolution of the same by President William Ruto.
