TOUGH TIMES LIE AHEAD: Why National Olympic Committee of Kenya is courting IOC ban

From Left-Suspended Chairman NOCK Kipchoge Keino, NOCK Legal officer Sharad Rao and David Mereka of Mereka advocates during NOCK meeting at Hotel Panari on Tuesday, Feb 28, 2017. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

National Olympic Committee of Kenya stares at imminent ban by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after yesterday's extra-ordinary general meeting aborted.

The meeting aborted amid threats from the international body that the country could be sanctioned. In yesterday's meeting, Nock Executive Members and their affiliates disagreed on a clause in the proposed constitution that stops them from voting in the elections.

The aborted meeting came hours after IOC sent a letter to Nock, saying it will not accept any further delay on the enactment of the constitution, which was part of the road-map towards new elections.

Speaking after the aborted meeting, Nock Deputy Secretary General James Chacha said they will meet after one week "to try and pass the document."

"This was an important day for Nock and we were hoping to adopt the new constitution. We had very good discussions towards this end, but differed on whether members of the executive should be allowed to vote in the elections, or not."

"Some members wanted this clause retained, while others wanted it to be deleted. For us to pass the constitution, we need a two thirds majority, which was not possible to achieve today (yesterday). We have decided to consult more and meet again after one week," he said.

But asked if there was any need for further debate on the document yet it had been negotiated, Chacha said there had been no such agreement.

He also ruled out the possibility of IOC banning them.

"This is our document and we must agree on it before adopting it. I think IOC will give us time to do this," he insisted.

But Kenya Table Tennis Association (KTTA) chairman Andrew Mudibo accused Nock chairman Kipchoge Keino of ending the meeting prematurely.

"They insisted on retaining the clause allowing executive members to vote, but we refused. We were ready to continue with the meeting, but Keino insisted that it be called off for another one week. We are very disappointed because this was a negotiated document," he said.

Mudibo said they could not have entertained any changes to the document since the IOC had been part of the negotiated document.

"We will not agree to go for elections without changing the constitution. We will continue pushing until we have a new document," he said.

In the letter to Nock yesterday, IOC Deputy Director General Pere Miro said they expect to receive a full report after yesterday's meeting, including a signed copy of the newly adopted constitution.

"We reiterate our call upon all those concerned to act responsibly and to respect agreements and road map established to conclude this process smoothly and successfully."