NAIROBI, Kenya, May 27, 2025 – The Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) have thrown out an application by Taekwondo Federation of Kenya (TFK) president Suleiman Sumba, seeking to be declared the rightful vote carrier at next month’s National Olympics Committee-Kenya (NOC-K) elections.
In their ruling, the panel said that the process to nominate an official to vote on behalf of the federation was flawed and hence, null and void.
“The dispute is internal between the Claimant here (the President) and the Secretary General and should be handled internally. In this regard, the tribunal finds that the nomination, having not been signed by the president and the secretary-general, is null and void,” the panel, chaired by Gichuru Kiplagat, decreed.
The federation was one of four that were embroiled in an internal tussle over which one of their officials would vote at the NOC-K polls on April 24.
The others are Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF), Kenya Triathlon Federation (KTF) and the Kenya Handball Federation (KHF).
In TFK’s case, the bone of contention was between Sumba and his secretary general, George Wesonga, both of who wanted to vote at the polls.
Due to the deadlock witnessed within the aforementioned federations, the polls were subsequently postponed to allow for consensus.
Last week, NOC-K announced that the elections will now be held on June 19 at a yet-to-be-confirmed venue.
SDT, in Monday’s ruling, further decreed that the elections can proceed even without the involvement of TFK.
“If the dispute is unresolved before the day of election, then the Election Board should proceed with the Federations that have complied with the Constitution and Election Regulations. The tribunal finds no need to interfere with the process as the 1st respondent (NOC-K) has only acted in accordance with the rules that bid the parties herein,” the panel said.
The ruling follows another by the High Court on April 27, which vacated previous orders that had barred the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from excluding the four federations from the elections — should they fail to agree among themselves.
Furthermore, KVF president Charles Nyaberi early this month lodged a case with SDT seeking to be declared the rightful vote carrier at the polls — on behalf of the federation.
He is entangled in a dispute with his deputy treasurer, Moses Mbuthia, on the same.
The polls pit NOC-K first deputy president Shadrack Maluki and secretary general, Francis Mutuku for the top job.
