Kempes: FKF polls should be held as per the Kenyan constitution
In January 2024, Football Kenya Federation’s (FKF) National Executive Committee (NEC) held a meeting in Nairobi and passed resolutions that are bound to shape Kenyan football in 2024.
These include kickstarting the process of the elections slated for 2024 a process the NEC reportedly agreed will be held as per the FKF Electoral Code used during the 2020 polls.
The NEC further resolved that the Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will ratify the FKF Electoral Board and Electoral Code (2020), be held on March 16, 2024, in Nairobi.
Granted, it is the constitutional mandate of the NEC to set a date for the AGM which comes up with the date for elections.
But that said, we must ask ourselves if FKF as currently constituted is legally mandated to set the process for the elections.
FKF has violated its very own constitution over the past three years by failing to hold NEC meetings and AGM and the resolutions by NEC do not exonerate them.
Astonishingly, these very people who have repeatedly violated their own rules and constitution dare to point to clauses that favor them and claim they follow rules and are law-abiding.
A notable point of non-compliance is the federation’s failure to review its constitution in line with the Kenyan Constitution 2010 since receiving the Conditional Registration Certificate in May 2018.
It therefore means that even if the federation holds its elections, the new office bearers will find themselves at loggerheads with the government once again as has happened in the past.
When Sports Registrar, Rose Wasike, and Sports Cabinet Secretary, Ababu Namwamba demanded FKF elections needed to align itself to the Sports Act as required by law, FKF in its usual tactics warned the government not to interfere with football or face the wrath of FIFA.
The reality of the matter is in 2013 the new national constitution came into force in Kenya that saw the end of the Provincial system and the introduction of the County system. Many administrative structures were thus changed to reflect this new dispensation.
In the General Assembly of the Football Kenya Federation of 2015, members resolved to review the Football Kenya Federation constitution to reflect this new dispensation and also align any other wanting clauses in the constitution to meet the changed needs in administering the game of football in Kenya in line with CAF and FIFA requirements.
The FKF constitution is subordinate to the Kenya constitution.
Registrar Rose Wasike and CS Ababu Namwamba will be abrogating their responsibilities if they fail to ensure FKF elections are aligned with the Kenya Constitution. Where there is conflict, Kenya’s Constitution takes precedence unless the law is broken. I applaud CS Ababu and Registrar Rose Wasike for standing for the rule of law, something the current FKF officeholders do not comprehend.
While I look forward to the elections, I will only participate in a process that is aligned with the laws of the land. If elected and allowed to serve, we will always follow the law. We acknowledge the current officeholders but do not appreciate their lack of respect for the law.
We recognize that FKF is the national organ responsible for running football in this country but demand that they are inclusive of everybody when it comes to elections. For us, there is no FKF or CFA. There is just Kenya football. We need to ensure that freedom to participate is a right enjoyed by all clubs. Rules that unreasonably exclude clubs should be done away with. CFA’s should be allowed to vote as well. We need to unite everybody so we can move as one and build football in this country.
As a candidate, it is not up to me to decide who represents a region and does not push for one candidate or the other. Whoever the members choose is who I work with. The members are the ones who know their best representative. I will work with a FKF or CFA member. My goal is to ensure that football is run in such a way that it includes everybody and that we build from the grassroots.
Let’s all come together for the sake of football. Let’s unite all stakeholders. Let’s start the process of rebuilding football. Let’s take our football back. Let’s not allow the enemies of football to continue to ruin our football but above all, let us all respect the laws that govern us.
The author Sammy Owino “Kempes” is a former Gor Mahia and Harambee Stars player and a presidential candidate in the forthcoming Football Kenya Federation elections
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