Mwendwa turns up, other candidates defy Electoral Board
Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa, flanked by his deputy Doris Petra (right), addresses journalists after submitting his documents to the Football Kenya Federation’s Electoral Board at Goal Project at Kasarani on October 23, 2019.
What you need to know:
- Being FKF president comes with an array of goodies, including the mandate to control an estimated Sh1.2 billion annual budget provided for by the government, corporates and via gate collections.
Incumbent Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa was the only candidate who presented his nomination papers to the federation’s Electoral Board at Kandanda House, Kasarani, Wednesday evening ahead of the December 7 elections.
The other aspirants — Sam Nyamweya, Moses Akaranga, Alex Ole Magelo and Steve Mburu — all failed to turn up for the nominations, with some of them claiming the entire electoral process has been altered to favour Mwendwa.
Speaking to Nation Sport on telephone, Nyamweya said the matter is in the High Court and Sports Disputes Tribunal and it was, therefore, “not procedural to hand in the nomination papers until the matter is heard and determined."
“We will hand over the papers after the court and tribunal have decided on the matter,” he said. “We are firmly in the race and the insinuation that we are not is misleading to our supporters.
“What we want is a level playing ground where rules are applied without bias, and that’s why people are before the High Court and the tribunal," Ole Magelo said he would seek the intervention of the world football governing body, Fifa.
"We will petition Fifa on this matter because this is a selection and not an election. The Sports Disputes Tribunal should stop favouring Mwendwa," said Ole Magelo. Stakeholders have filed cases at the SDT and High Court challenging the composition of the Electoral Board and the validity of the exercise.
"If anyone gunning for the presidency doesn't present his nominations by 5 pm, then he or she will not participate in the elections. We did not make these rules, the (FKF) delegates did," explained Electoral Board chairman Edwin Wamukoya.
RUNNING MATE
Meanwhile, accompanied by his running mate Doris Petra and hundreds of youthful supporters donning Team Blue branded t-shirts, Mwendwa, whose first-year term in office has been marred by challenges and especially a lack of goodwill from the corporates, explained he's convinced the coming years will be better.
"The Electoral Board officials say they will confirm my candidature in three days’ time and I am confident of getting clearance (to contest)," he said.
"In our first term, we ensured our men and women national teams played at their respective Africa Cup of Nations.
“The women team is also on course to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in history. Our plan is to try and play at the 2022 or 2026 Fifa World Cup."
Being FKF president comes with an array of goodies, including the mandate to control an estimated Sh1.2 billion annual budget provided for by the government, corporates and via gate collections.
About a third of this budget is received as grants from Fifa.
