All eyes on government amid Kenyan football crisis
Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed is on Thursday expected to spell out the way forward in the wake of a leadership vacuum in Kenyan football.
This follows the expiry of Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Caretaker committee’s term on Tuesday and a court ruling that gave her a thumbs up to disband FKF and implement these changes.
Amina on Tuesday promised to spell the way forward for the crisis hit local football scene following meetings with stakeholders including President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The Caretaker’s expiry team means there is no team to run football activities at the moment.
This means, among other, the Premier and other league matches this weekend may not be played if a solution is not found by then.
The Sports CS disbanded FKF in November of 2021 after an inspection committee she’d tasked returned a report containing allegations of misappropriation of funds and incomplete registration as a government entity.
Embattled FKF president Nick Mwendwa was then arrested on two occasions inside a week, and hauled before court where he was charged on four counts of corruption.
The move was outlawed by Fifa who initially called for talks, but later slapped an indefinite suspension on Kenya from competition in international activities citing ‘third party interference’ in all football activities.
FKF President Aspirant Twaha Mbarak said he expects Mohamed to form a restructured committee and if the government is still engaging Fifa on the formation of a normalization committee.
“It is Mwendwa who took Mohamed to court and he has lost meaning he has to be accountable for the financial misappropriation. If the government is still engaging Fifa they can form a restructured committee from the caretaker committee but of individuals who understand football,” said Mbarak.
Another presidential aspirant Lordvick Aduda said the decision and actions expected from the CS must take into consideration that we are under Fifa suspension and therefore all decisions must see to it that it is lifted.
“She must consider that there is a vacuum in the FKF leadership after the High Court ratified her decision. The general assembly also revoked FKF NEC candidates. However another committee is a wrong way to go since the Fifa issue will remain,” said Aduda.
“The only solution is for FKF departmental heads to be allowed back to the office to resume management and coordination of the activities which for the past six months has been undertaken by the caretaker committee,” he added.