Elect trust worthy officials to clean up Olympic committee

National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) president Kipchoge Keino’s withdrawal from the organisation’s elections was significant in two levels.

First, it laid a framework for a generational change in the leadership of the organisation with the younger former marathoner Paul Tergat set to take over as NOCK chairman.

Secondly, it signalled that it is time to replace NOCK’s discredited officials, many of them tainted with corruption. In regard to the Tergat candidacy — he is the sole candidate for president — it is clear that NOCK needs a leadership that is in tune with the aspiration of sports men and women. Tergat, as an Olympian and a celebrated athlete, appears well-equipped to be the voice that competitors need to articulate their issues.

It was quite clear that during the sunset of Keino’s days as president, NOCK had become inured to public criticism, even as it became increasingly apparent that its senior officials were mired in a string of financial scandals that threatened to bring it down. These scandals are a blight on Keino’s legacy and now threaten to overshadow his spectacular achievements as one of the pioneering Olympians in the 1960s and 1970s.

The May 5 elections provide the NOCK Electoral College with the opportunity to start from a clean slate. Delegates have the opportunity to rid the committee of members who have brought NOCK into disrepute. From the lists of candidates who have submitted their names for re-election, a number are facing criminal charges.

The new NOCK leadership should have no room for officials with integrity questions hanging over their heads. With sports associations being assailed from all quarters—from increased doping in athletics, to unbridled greed by officials — it will take a special type of leadership to keep our sports clean. Delegates at the NOCK polls should start this campaign by voting for the right officials.