Sports minister speaks on decision to disband Nock

Sports CS Hassan Wario (left) and his PS Richard Ekai addresses the Labour Committee of the National Assemble to discuss the Rio Olympics fiasco at Parliament Buildings 08-09-16 PHOTO MOSES OMUSULA

Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario was forced to eat humble pie regarding his decision to disband the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) after the International Olympics Committee (IOC) tasked the local body to oversee a transition to new office bearers by the end of the year.

Wario yesterday admitted to the National Assembly Labour and Sports Committee that a meeting held at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, had granted Nock, under the chairmanship of Kipchoge Keino, the liberty to oversee the review of its Constitution and convene an Elective General Assembly for purposes of conducting elections.

Although Wario declined to

own up to the fact that the IOC had overturned his decision to disband the local Olympics body, he told the House that the officials had been recognised by IOC as the right organ to oversee a transition, leading to the election of new officials.

 

URGENT ATTENTION

The CS was adamant that his decision to kick the officials out of office had been vindicated because IOC had agreed that there was a mess in Kenya that required urgent attention.

Wario produced the IOC communiqué issued after the meeting at the weekend in Switzerland, which brought together his team and another from Nock headed by Keino at which a road map was reached to resolve the impasse.

“What we were looking for was a road map to resolve the impasse and I can report that in two to three months we will have a changed Nock landscape.

“What IOC found was that there is a problem with the current team. That is why they said we should have elections by December 31,” he said.

According to the communiqué, Keino was directed to convene an extraordinary general assembly of Nock to, among other things, agree on the process leading to Nock’s quadrennial elections.

“Once this first step is completed, Nock will convene its Elective General Assembly and conduct free and fair elections of the members of the Nock Executive Board,” said the communiqué.

But before the elections, Nock must review and update its constitution to conform with the IOC constitution, submitting the proposed amendments to the international body for approval in accordance with the Olympic Charter.