Ousted FKF members break silence after dismissal

Ousted FKF Vice President Mcdonald Mariga and NEC member Dan Shikanda address the press in Meru Town. [Phares Mutembei, Standard]

Ousted Federation of Kenya Football (FKF) Vice President McDonald Mariga and NEC member Dan Shikanda have dismissed their expulsion staged at the Special General Meeting in Meru on Saturday, November 7, 2026.

The duo, accompanied by a contingent of police, were forced to leave the venue of the SGM, which was presided over by FKF President Hussein Mohammed and attended by delegates and representatives from the Federation of International Football (FIFA), the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the government.

A contingent of police officers that had accompanied Mariga and his allies was forced out of the venue after another group led by Meru County Police Commander Moses Mutisya arrived at the highly charged event.

Shikanda, a former Kenyan international, said their ouster was illegal, claiming that the genuine delegates were locked out.

"That was an illegal meeting done by some friends of one Hussein Mohammed," he said.

He said a bid by Mariga to appear before his accusers was thwarted after they were locked out of the grounds.

"We cannot access that place. We also had to ask for security. The government has the responsibility to protect us, and we were given that protection. That protection was not to interfere with anything there; it was to make sure that genuine delegates got in, but you have seen what has happened," Shikanda said.

Shikanda, the representative of Nairobi in the NEC, said they had wanted Mr Mariga to go before the assembly to defend himself just like them, but they were not given the opportunity.

"We wanted him (Mariga) to come here and go back safely. The people we had as security have done their job. None of us has been hurt, and that was the most important thing."

The ousted NEC members made a futile attempt to re-enter the Three Steers Hotel, where police earlier fired tear gas canisters as the event threatened to descend into chaos.

Mariga opted not to speak about his experience, though he had earlier in the morning arrived at the hotel accompanied by a sizeable contingent of police officers.