IOC orders NOCK polls by December

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has instructed its Kenyan affiliate to hold elections under a new constitution by December 31.

A communique issued after a joint meeting between IOC, National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) and the government led by Cabinet Secretary for Sports Hassan Wario in Lausanne, Switzerland on Friday indicated that NOC-K should convene an Extraordinary General Assembly in accordance with the current constitution and Olympic Charter to address the matters raised.

The statement was released by Jérôme Poivey, the IOC Head of Institutional Relations and Governance NOC Relations Department, and said the assembly will update members on the outcome of the Lausanne meeting.

The extraordinary meeting should also address and clarify any issue raised in relation to the management of the NOC-K delegation for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 that was filled with tales of mismanagement.

The statement explained that the meeting will review and update the NOC-K constitution currently in force, as necessary, and submit the proposed amendments to the IOC for approval.

It now means that the disbanded NOC-K office could be back albeit temporarily to help in ushering a new era at the national Olympics body. 

 “The meeting should also agree on the process leading to the NOC-K quadrennial elections,” said Poivey after a meeting that was also attended by NOC-K president Kipchoge Keino.

“Once this first step is completed, the NOC-K will convene its Elective General Assembly and conduct free and fair elections of the members of the NOC-K Executive Board in accordance with the newly approved NOC-K Constitution,” the statement read.

The elections will be held under the full supervision of the IOC, in close collaboration with NOC-K and the government.

Poivey explained that Friday’s meeting allowed for all parties to understand the situation and clarify any misunderstanding which may have caused the current issues.

"In addition, all parties appreciated the excellent results of the Kenyan delegation and athletes at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and recognised the need to resolve the current situation in the interests of sport and the athletes in Kenya," said Poivey.

Wario had moved to disband NOC-K after the Olympic Games, accusing the local Olympic body of mismanaging Team Kenya in Rio. 

Wario instead directed Sports Kenya to take charge as he also appointed a probe committee to investigate the mismanagement of Team Kenya.

Last weekend, federations moved swiftly to convene a meeting where an interim committee led by Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) chairman Waithaka Kioni was put in place to review the NOC-K constitution and organise for fresh elections before December 31 this year.