FKF under siege over expired tenure

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Vice President aspirant Twaha Mbarak (left) is franked by FKF North Coast Branch John Ngoa (centre) and FKF South Coast Branch secretary Evans Mwachia while addressing FKF Coast delegates at Malindi in Kilifi County on Saturday 12th September 2015. [Photo/Kelvin Karani]

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) will from Tuesday, February 25, mount its case at the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) seeking to have the Sports Registrar compelled to allow it conduct elections outside the Sports Act 2013 – and later progressively comply.

FKF lawyers, Litoro & Omwebu Advocates have already set out their stall seeking an order directing the Respondent (Sports Registrar) to “accept and receive returns from FKF of the newly elected officials after the FKF elections as provided for in Rule 20(4) of the Sports Registrar Regulations, 2016.”

Yesterday, the SDT directed the hearing to begin on Tuesday.

And as the protagonists took positions yesterday, former FKF Vice President Twaha Mbarak said the current regime should have gone to the Tribunal with clean hands, considering also that their term of office expired on February 10.

“On one hand, FKF has gone to the Tribunal (prayer 4) to have the case heard and determined urgently before the time-constrained Electoral Board begins its work. Yet at the same time the supposedly independent Board, which is hosted at the Federation offices has released a calendar, release a purported list of voting clubs and received nominations Board. That is not honest,” Twaha charged.

“It is regrettable that we are not honest in the administration of our game. If we were, FKF should have learned from Hon. Judge Mwera’s (John) ruling on April 8, 2004, that you have no business purporting to conduct elections once your term has expired,” he said.

By yesterday, more than 30 entities had applied to be enjoined in the case.

FKF’s opponents are seeking to turn the tide against the football association for what they say is embarrassing Fifa and the government of Kenya by refusing to deliberately comply with the Sports Act 2013 and Fifa Statutes as directed by Sarah Solemale (Fifa Governance Services Manager) when she visited Kenya in December last year.

“After the Fifa delegation left, they (FKF) claimed to have had a deal allowing them to proceed with the elections, how come they took the Registrar to the tribunal for insisting on strict compliance with the Act with which they were conditionally registered?” said Elly Mukolwe, a former FKF Western NEC representative.

Lordvick Aduda, an FKF presidential aspirant, said the Tribunal decreed on December 22, 2015, that FKF makes immediate arrangements to comply with the Tribunal’s order to register under the Sports Act.

“Ohaga’s decree was clear that FKF complies as required by law and that such compliance must be undertaken on or before Friday, December 4, 2015. Can FKF demonstrate they took steps to comply? Better still, can FKF show that Hon Ohaga set aside the decree?” Aduda said.