Ndereba eyes Olympic post

Two times world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba is among six new candidates seeking to fill up some of the seats in the exclusive National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) executive committee when elections are held next Friday.

Ndereba, 36, is fast approaching retirement from the marathon and is seeking to get into management. She wants take one of the three committee members positions.

However, Kipchoge Keino will retain his chairman’s seat unopposed, and secretary general Francis K. Paul too. Paul took over from the late Tom O’omuombo.

Others who are walking back into their offices are long-serving treasurer Fridah Shiroya and her assistant Stephen Soi.

Athletics Kenya Secretary General David Okeyo, who has eight years in service at the NOCK as committee member, now moves up to the influential position of second vice chairman.

John Roberts is not about to let go of his position as committee member, the same is Peter Nderitu, the first vice chairman. The two have served in those positions for 12 years each.

The majority of the other officials have a combined period of over 100 years, yet none is about to leave.

Paul, the secretary general at NOCK, confirmed that the at the expiry of the submission of the nomination forms yesterday at noon, only six new aspirants had expressed interest in the exclusive club that is the local affiliate of International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Incumbent

The first vice chairman’s position has drawn interest from assistant minister Alfred Khangati, who is challenging the incumbent Nderitu.

James Chacha and Ben Ekumbo face off in the race for post of assistant secretary general while the committee member has received requests from Ndereba, Roberts, Charles Nyaberi, Suleiman Sumba, Anthony Kariuki, Pius Ochieng and Resham Bains.

For the women’s representative seat, incumbent Njeri Onyango is up against Ann Maina.

With control over disbursement of sports scholarships, seminars and lucrative foreign trips in the offing, NOCK has become a closed shop with the incumbents so entrenched in their positions and never willing to give any out a sniff to any outsider with intent to become an official.

Stiff resistance

Lobbying amongst delegates from the 19 affiliates is pegged on distribution of grants from US sports manufacturing giant, Nike, management of the IOC finances to facilitate qualification of respective disciplines to Commonwealth and Olympics Games and allocation kit to the affiliate bodies locally.

Attempts by the government to have a limit of two four-year terms for officials of sports organisations have been met with stiff resistance .

Some of the officials have served for over a decade and show no sign of going into retirement. Paul, confirmed that this year, the total number of votes will be 29 after they changed their constitution to allow the women’s representative to have voting rights.