Political interests delay naming of Director General for sports body

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

High level jostling is causing delay in naming a substantive Director General for Sports Kenya, Feverpitch has learnt.

The organisation, which is the offshoot of the recently enacted Sports Act has never had a substantive Director General since 2013.

Gabriel Komora held the position in an acting capacity for close to two years before Gordon Oluoch was appointed in the same capacity early this year.

But despite Sports Kenya conducting interviews and submitting names of three persons to Cabinet Secretary of Sports Hassan Wario, no appointment has been made so far.

Among the three candidates who have been shortlisted, we could only confirm that Oluoch is one of them. The others, whose identities we could not confirm are a Nairobi based business woman and a lecturer at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

Sources in the Sports Ministry intimated to Feverpitch that political interest could be behind the delay by Wario to appoint one of the three to the position.

“There is a lot of interest in the position and it has taken a political angle as some high ranking politicians are pushing for certain people to take up the position,” said our source.

But political jostling for this position is not surprising considering that in the past former Sports Ministers have made political appointments to high ranking positions in the Ministry.

During the Mwai Kibaki regime, the government created a new position in the Sports Ministry known as the Sports Secretary. Its holder was just below the Permanent Secretary.

Makueni Member of Parliament Daniel Maanzo was the first holder of the Sports Secretary’s position.

Prior to his appointment, Maanzo was a high ranking member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party. After Maanzo, Wilson Langat took up the position after being appointed by former Minister