During the Special General Meeting (SGM) held at a Nairobi hotel, 89 delegates were in attendance, among them representatives from the 45 FKF Branches as well as the 18 FKF Premier League, 10 FKF National Super League, three FKF Women Premier League, two FKF Women National Super League and 10 FKF Division One League.
Top on the agenda at the SGM was the adoption of decisions by the National Executive Committee (NEC), adoption of the newly composed Electoral Board, as well as the 2019/2020 Electoral Code. Members present voted to pass the Electoral Board members, composed of lawyer Hesbon Owilla, James Waindi, Alfred Ngang’a, Dan Mule, and Marceline Sande. Standby Members Farida Lucia Juma and Robert Akumu Asembo.
81 delegates voted to have the board oversee the eagerly awaited exercise. After passing the board, the delegates were tasked to ratify the usage of the contentious Electoral Code with Tusker chairman Charles Gacheru proposing amendments to the Code after concerns raised by two members, Luthers Mokua of Nyamira County FKF branch and Murang’a Seal FC chairman Robert Macharia.
The Electoral Code regulates the elections of FKF and is designed to ensure transparency and fairness in the electoral process.
It is crafted to ensure the structure of FKF finally ascends from 20 branches to 48 counties as agreed in the FKF constitution ratified by the FKF General Assembly on November 18th, 2017 (the FKF constitution). It anticipates that after the 2019/2020 elections, the football administration shall be aligned with the Kenyan governance structures.
In the revised code, which was unanimously endorsed by 82 delegates, those contesting for the FKF presidency must have been active in football matters for the past two years before the election.
The previous code had required anyone vying for the top seat to have been active in the last four years before the elections, either as players, officials or administrators. As stipulated in the Code, the FKF elections will be conducted through a secret ballot in accordance with the Statutes as per Article 27 (2) of the FKF constitution.
Some of the key requirements that must be met by candidates seeking the office of the President and Deputy President include the following: each candidate shall be a Kenyan citizen, who must have attained the age of eighteen (18) years, shall have been active in football (i.e. registered as an NEC member, Committee member, Referee, Assistant Referee, Coach, Trainer, or as any other person responsible for Technical, Medical or Administrative matters in FKF, League or Club or as a Player) for two of the last four years before being proposed as a candidate.
The candidate shall present declarations of support from at least five (5) of the seventy-eight (78) eligible voters as per Art. 21 of the 2012 FKF constitution. No candidate shall present an endorsement from a club/member that has endorsed another candidate.
Other requirements include candidates presenting a valid Kenyan Identity Card or Passport, a Certificate of Good Conduct that is no more than 6 (six) months old, a Clearance Letter from the Credit Reference Bureau, a Clearance certificate from the Higher Educations Loans Board, acknowledgement document from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and a valid Tax Compliance Certificate from Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
Stakeholders welcome changes to Electoral Code
Speaking after the SGM, former FKF President Sam Nyamweya, who attended as an observer, welcomed the changes saying it will pave the way for an all-inclusive exercise.
“There was no need to lock out other candidates (because of the previous stringent rules) and the amendments is a welcome move because all those seeking to contest for various positions will now be allowed to be in the ballot,” Nyamweya told Flashscore.
“Football is bigger than Nyamweya, than Nick (Mwendwa), than the rest of us, who attended these meeting, so the SGM has kick started the process for the eagerly awaited elections, we must hold elections, we don’t have any short cuts, if we don’t then we will face the wrath of the world governing body FIFA.”
Hussein Mohammed, who is seeking the presidency, told Flashscore: “The SGM signals the road to elections which is very essential, it is very important we finally hold elections, I am happy to have been allowed to attend the SGM, remember last time they had tried to block me.
“I want to thank the delegates for making the amendments to the Electoral Code, I am now eligible to contest and will be looking forward to taking charge of football and driving it forward. I will be announcing my candidature on August 28th.”
Mwendwa highlights success of his administration
FKF President Nick Mwendwa outlined some of the achievements by his office saying the federation had achieved a lot since taking over.
“We have entered into broadcast partnership agreements with Azam TV and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) for the FKF Premier League,” Mwendwa told Flashscore. “Out of the partnerships, clubs shall benefit from monetary grants from FKF as well as exposure to audiences in and outside the country.
“We also maintained partnerships with MozzartBet for the FKF Cup and Safaricom for the Chapa Dimba Youth tournament, Kenya’s biggest grassroots football competition. These partnerships will go a long way in helping the federation and its members achieve self-sustainability.”
On coaching in the country, Mwendwa said: “We have invested in capacity building of our coaches, referees, and the technical staff. Our technical department has trained and accredited over 1000 coaches at the CAF D license, C license and B silenced levels. The highlight was the training of 60 coaches at the CAF A license level. These programs are aimed at ensuring players at all levels are handled by qualified personnel, and prepares our coaches for job opportunities both at home and abroad.”
Mwendwa further highlighted the achievement of Kenya’s national teams at all levels by saying: “The Kenya national teams returned to the international stage after a long time out due to suspension, the men’s senior team Harambee Stars was engaged in high-profile friendly matches against Iran, Qatar, Russia.
“This was the first time Kenya played a European nation. Harambee Starlets also returned to action after a two-year absence, playing in the Women’s African Cup of Nations qualifiers but sadly falling to Botswana in the final qualifying round.”
Mwendwa continued: “Youth national teams gave opportunities to young players to showcase their potential on the national stage as coaches got a platform to scout future prodigies. The Kenya U18 team reached the final of the CECAFA U18 Boys Championships while the Kenya U15 Girls team reached the Pan African Schools Football Championship CECAFA Zonal Qualifier.”
Mwendwa concluded by explaining the importance of the SGM. “The SGM is special as it charts a way forward for the upcoming elective process. We convened for the first time since 2021, to formulate policies that will guide our return to normalcy.”
Already several top officials have shown their interest in going for the top seat currently held by Nick Mwendwa.
They include former FKF President Nyamweya, Extreme Sports CEO Mohammed Hussein, former Gor Mahia CEO Omondi Aduda, current Gor Mahia CEO Sammy Ocholla, ex-CECAFA boss Nicholas Musonye, Bandari official Twaha Mbarak, County Football Association (CFA) chairman Charles Njoroge and businessman Tafiq Balala.
