IOC under scrutiny as NOCK affiliates cry foul on deadline day over draft Constitution

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach (R) applauds as Former Kenyan athlete Kipchoge Keino acknowledges his award during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 5, 2016. / AFP PHOTO /

The International Olympic Committee’s commitment to resolving the stalemate at its troubled Kenyan affiliate is expected to come under scrutiny this week as the deadline to submit a negotiated Constitution elapses today.

Late last year, IOC directed that a final draft of the Constitution under the guidance of National Olympic Committee of Kenya in consultation with its members be submitted to them no later than today, January 9, for final review and prior approval.

According to IOC, the draft would subsequently be circulated by the NOCK to all the members of the General Assembly at least one week prior to the Extraordinary General Assembly envisaged for end of this month or early February.

But NOCK affiliates now claim they are in the dark on deadline day of what was forwarded to IOC.

“NOCK was supposed to have held consultative meetings with its members as stated by the IOC letter, which expressly quoted that all members must participate in the process of coming up with the final draft, vide letter dated December 16, 2016,” Andrew Mudibo, who was elected interim secretary general by dissatisfied affiliates, states in a statement circulated to the media yesterday.

“Sadly, we are in the dark. At this moment and time, it is not just the credibility of NOCK which we already know where it stands but of IOC that is on the line with how it is handling the Kenyan case,” says the statement.

NOCK president Kipchoge Keino admits they have forwarded the draft Constitution and are awaiting IOC’s feedback.

“The NOCK Executive sat together with nominated persons from affiliate federations to put together the draft,” Keino told FeverPitch yesterday.

NOCK affiliate federations now want to handle directly the Constitution process.

“If IOC indeed values Kenya as a member of the Olympic Movement, then it has to protect the Olympic spirit in Kenya,” Mudibo said while claiming that NOCK assets are being disposed without the authority of the NOCK members.