Ochola elected new Kenya Golf Union chairman

KGU Chairman Philip Ochola (right) receives the Union's Shield from the Union's outgoing Chairman Njani Ndiritu at Muthaiga Golf Club house in Nairobi during the AGM on Friday night.[Maarufu Mohamed, Standard].

Muthaiga's Philip Ochola was elected unopposed as the 2023/2024 Kenya Golf Union (KGU) Chairman during the Union's Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Friday night at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi.

Ochola expressed his sincere appreciation to Muthaiga Golf Club for nominating him and all the affiliate golf clubs for entrusting him with the Chairmanship.

The new chairman said that his top priority during his tenure as Chairman is to ensure the successful completion of ongoing projects.

"I am determined to finalize the Lenana and Kasarani high performance center projects, which holds great potential for nurturing young talent in our country. Additionally, I aim to see the introduction of golf in schools come to fruition, as it is vital for attracting and grooming the next generation of golfers. I also pledge to promote our Elite squad players, providing them with opportunities to excel and securing scholarships to further their golfing careers," said Ochola.

The Chairman expressed his intention to nurture young talent, take care of the welfare of golfers, including disabled players and caddies.

"This will be achieved in collaboration with KGU subsidiaries, namely the Junior Golf Foundation, the Kenya Ladies Golf Union, and the Kenya Open Golf Limited, "said Ochola.

KGU Chairman Philip Ochola sends a swing during a past tournament. [Maarufu Mohamed, Standard].

He committed to actively engage the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Culture and Sports, The Ministry of Education and The Ministry of Land to create a conducive environment for the development of the golf at a national level and also promised to partner with the private sector and institutions to develop the game of golf further.

The other three who were also elected un opposed includes the Limuru's David Ndung'u who assumes office as Vice Chairman while Thika Sports Club's Chris Kinuthia and Karugu Macharia of Windsor Golf Hotel & Country Club will be the Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer of the Union respectively.

Out of the 104 eligible voters representing 88% turn out, 99 ballots were cast and the six executive positions were won by Brian Akun (55 votes), Francis Wambua (70 votes), Ndiga Kithae (60 votes), Jonathan Marucha (72 votes), Sammy Itemere (74 votes) and Thomas Mwaura (60 votes).

The Outgoing Chairman Njani Ndiritu thanked the committee members for their support during his tenure. He said that the Union has continued to make significant strides to prioritize Junior Golf, and has signed an MOU with the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) to introduce golf in schools.

He urged the new leadership to work together and build upon the foundation that has already been laid and congratulated the new team and called upon the incoming board to extend their utmost support to the Incoming Chairman who will carry the torch forward.

KGU was formed in 1928 and is Kenya's oldest continuous sports body affiliated to the Ministry of Sports & Culture, the Royal & Ancient and also the International Golf Federation as the representative body of the golfing sport in Kenya.

It is a union of 38 golf clubs and 2 golfing societies in Kenya.

THE NEWLY ELECTED TEAM;

Chairman-Philip Ochola;

Vice-Chairman-David Ndung'u;

Hon. Secretary-Chris Kinuthia;

Hon. Treasurer-Karugu Macharia;

Executive-Brian Akun;

Executive-Francis Wambua;

Executive-Jonathan Marucha;

Executive-Ndiga Kithae;

Executive-Sammy Itemere;

Executive-Thomas Mwaura;