FKF’s legal conundrum continues
What you need to know:
- FKF Chief Executive Officer Barry Otieno said on Monday that the elections will be conducted in conformance with the FKF constitution.
Next month’s Football Kenya Federation repeat polls could become as heated and controversial as the previous exercise as a number of aspirants have differed sharply with the electoral board and electoral code put in place to guide the exercise.
FKF Chief Executive Officer Barry Otieno said on Monday that the elections will be conducted in conformance with the FKF constitution, and not the Sports Act, a matter that has now opened a new legal battle field.
"We intend to comply with the Sports Act progressively because we cannot do it at once. We should also realise that within the Act, there are things that should be re-looked so that it doesn't kill sports in the country," said Otieno.
His statement has been met with stiff criticism from presidential aspirants who accuse the federation of overturning an earlier ruling by the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) and the sports registrar which states the polls should be conducted as per the Sports Act.
"If it is true that they have struck a deal with the Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed to hold elections outside the Kenyan constitution, they will be violating the Fifa rules that state member associations should operate without any interference from external bodies.
"Secondly, which constitution do they plan to use? The 2017 FKF constitution was contested at the SDT, and the tribunal chairman directed that they revert to the 2012 document. Are they ready to conduct elections from the sub-branch level as is required of them in the 2012 constitution?" posed Lordvick Aduda, who is keen to unseat Mwendwa.
Part of the SDT raking read by chairman John Ohaga stated: "Basing our jurisdiction on the provisions of Article 69 and 70 of the 2017 constitution would be insufficient as the enforceability of the 2017 constitution is contested by parties. We, therefore, turn to the 2012 constitution."
And former FKF president Sam Nyamweya, who is also keen on making a comeback, has written to CS Amina imploring her to ensure strict adherence to the rule of law, and to bring on board all parties in the search of a way out of the current standoff.
"We are in another situation where a new board has been consulted, yet all the other directives as ordered by the SDT have not been respected. The SDT was clear about public participation, but this has never been carried out conclusively,” he said.
