NOCK ANNOUNCES ELECTION DATE: Insist they are fully in charge of the constitution process

Interim NOCK Committee officials Waithaka Kioni, Andrew Mudibo and Shadrack Maluki during a press conference in Nairobi on Friday, Oct 21,, 2016. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) has released a time-line that will culminate in national elections to be held on December 20.

The association’s executive committee held a meeting yesterday amid criticism from some of its affiliates that it was slowing down the constitution review process.

While announcing the timelines, Nock Deputy Secretary James Chacha at the same time insisted that they are fully in-charge of the constitution process and dismissed an earlier draft released three weeks ago.

“We have extended the deadline for our affiliates to bring us suggestions on the changes they want made to the constitution to October 31. On November 8 we will have a draft constitution and circulate the same to our affiliates three days later.

“On November 15, we will hold a stakeholders meeting to discuss the draft. On November 18, we will send the proposed constitution to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for approval,” he explained.

He added:”On December 2, we will hold the extra ordinary meeting to either pass or reject the constitution to pave way for elections on December 20. We are not slowing down the process as some are claiming and are determined to adhere to the agreement we signed with IOC.”

Chacha insisted that review of the constitution process is a preserve of the Nock executive committee and cannot be delegated to any other body.

“For this purpose we appointed a sub-committee that has been receiving views from member federations so as to put together and come up with a draft. So far, we have only received views from wrestling, weight-lifting and table tennis,” he said.

Chacha challenged federations to look at broadly addressing the constitution and not just parts of it.

“Changing the Nock constitution does not mean just barring members of the executive from voting. We need to look at the whole document in its entirety to achieve any meaningful changes.”

He also revealed that yesterday’s executive meeting asked Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario to lift his order disbanding Nock.

“He has to rescind that decision otherwise if some of us get re-elected this may be viewed as an illegal process,” said Chacha.

On Friday, Nock affiliates had accused the embattled current office for slowing down the body’s constitution review process as ordered by IOC.

The Nock affiliate federations Secretary Andrew Mudibo blamed the Kipchoge Keino-led Executive Committee for failing to implement the resolutions of last month’s tripartite meeting between representatives from IOC, Nock and the Kenyan Government following the mismanagement of Team Kenya in Rio.

The affiliates claim that the Executive Committee is undermining IOC’s directives to Nock hence sabotaging the entire review process.

“We are ready to be banned if this office continues sabotaging the constitution review process. It’s a fight about the process and coming up with the new constitution, nothing else,” said Mudibo.