As expected, world football governing, Fifa, has issued a stern warning to Kenya threatening to once again suspend the country from all football activities due to government interference.
This is after the High Court in Mombasa stopped the highly anticipated Annual General Meeting that was initially supposed to be held on March 16 after Sports journalist Milton Nyakundi questioned the legality of Football Kenya Federation’s top officials to convene the meeting. The order was issued barely 24 hours before the AGM.
In a letter dated March 26 2024, addressed to FKF Secretary General Barry Otieno by Fifa’s Chief Member Associations Officer Kenny Jean-Marie, Fifa ordered the federation hold the AGM as soon as possible.
The statement consequently puts Kenya’s chances of hosting this year’s Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) and the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations in the balance.
“Please note that the order of the Mombasa High Court dated 15 March 2024 appears to clearly amount to undue influence by third parties which could be considered as a violation of Article 19 paragraph 1 of the FIFA Statutes and Article 7 paragraph 1.g. of the CAF Statutes,” read part of Kenny Jean-Marie’s letter.
“As a result, and irrespective of the outcome of the hearing to take place on March 18 March 2024. Fifa takes the view that any further attempt by a third party to prevent the AFKF Annual General Meeting from taking place might be considered a violation to the above-mentioned principle, which would oblige our institution to bring the matter to the attention of the relevant Fifa bodies for consideration of possible sanctions in line with the Fifa Statutes.
“Finally, we would like to remind you that a suspended member association may not exercise any of its membership rights…. A suspended member association loses all its membership rights, as defined in art. 13 of the FIFA Statutes, with immediate effect and until further notice. Likewise, the representative teams as well as the affiliated clubs of this federation can no longer take part in international competitions until the suspension has been lifted.”
FKF presidential aspirant Hussein Mohammed said: "I am deeply concerned about the latest developments in our football sector. As a stakeholder and an official of KPL side Murang’a Seal FC, I am worried that the current impasse shall inevitably regress the game into depths of anarchy we have never witnessed before. To salvage this situation, an urgent and deliberate effort is required from all stakeholders to ensure free and fair FKF elections are held at the earliest opportunity. It's time to say enough is enough to the mismanagement of our beautiful game.”
In 2022, Fifa suspended Kenya from all football activities for over a year due to government interference. This is after former Sports CS Amina Mohamed disbanded the Nick Mwendwa-led federation over allegations of misappropriation of funds.
