Bwana Mwendwa, show us the OB van or money

It was interesting to see Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa among the top officials who gathered at a meeting in Nairobi calling on the government to help bail out the country’s sports which by all intents and purposes is on its death bed.

I was shocked that Mwendwa has the audacity to call for more funds yet he hasn’t told us what happened to the monies Fifa extended to FKF for the purchase of an Outside Broadcasting (OB) van which seems to have melted into thin air.

If the good man thinks we will soon forget then he is hugely mistaken. As excellently reported by this newspaper, it is a fact that money was sent from Fifa and received by FKF. It is also a fact that the van exists - but only in the minds of those responsible for its delivery.

Mwendwa does not have any moral standing to go to the government and demand for more money when he cannot sufficiently explain the whereabouts of the said van. As I said here last week, I do not have facts to prove that some Chinese accounting took place in the whole affair of the missing van.

Be that as it may and knowing that explaining matters finances can seem rocket science to many, my simple question is, where is the van Mr Mwendwa?

It is quite disappointing that when Mwendwa and his gang came to office, Kenyans were optimistic that we were finally putting behind us the tales of woe involving finances, unpaid player allowances and many other negative news.

After all, this was a youthful candidate who promised fresh ideas away from the Mugabes that we had associated with our football. Alas! We were left holding the short end of the stick.

I was reminded of this fact when the government made several appointments to state corporations and other quasi-governmental entities. There was a huge uproar especially from the youthful social media brigade that accused the government of appointing geriatrics at the expense of the huge youthful and well educated young people we have in the country.

I was also reminded of a caution by President Uhuru Kenyatta when in defending the appointment of the old people argued that he had experimented with the young only to be disappointed. In his view, unlike the youth, the old have a way with prudent use of finances.

I never fully bought this argument but now with the benefit of hindsight and looking at the score cards of the Mwendwas of this world, I am inclined to believe the head of state.

Apart from yelling at the top of their voices from the rooftops of how young and innovative they are, what exactly has Mwendwa and his team done at FKF different, from for example, the Sam Nyamweya-led brigade they chased out of town in 2016? Give us just one reason to have faith in you Bwana Mwendwa. Show us the van or the money!