Kenya Insights

Tag: nick mwendwa

  • Nick Mwendwa Kicked Out In A Dramatic Election As Hussein Mohammed Elected FKF President

    Nick Mwendwa Kicked Out In A Dramatic Election As Hussein Mohammed Elected FKF President

    Just like Hussein Mohammed and his running mate Mcdonald Mariga’s campaign tagline, it’s officially a ‘Fresh Start’ for the Kenyan football.

    This is after political tension of Football Kenya Federation (FKF) elections descended at Saturday’s elective Special General Meeting (SGM) at Kasarani Gymnasium.

    Mohammed, an experienced football administrator, was second time lucky after he was finally elected the new FKF president hence ushering in a new dawn in the country’s most followed game.

    Mohammed garnered 67 votes in the second round as delegates entrusted him with the mandate to restore Kenya’s lost glory.

    A total number of 90 delegates drawn from 46 branches, 43 clubs and Kenya Footballers’ Association (KEFWA) representative converged at the historic venue to decide the future of the Kenyan game which has been bedeviled by wrangles, mismanagement, embezzlement of funds and lack of standardised stadiums for a while.

    Mohammed succeeds Nick Mwendwa whose bid to remain at Kandanda House failed after Doris Petra finished second with 31 votes, nine votes behind Mohammed before she eventually conceded defeat ahead of the runoff. She went ahead to get one vote in the second round same as former FKF CEO Barry Otieno.

    Newly elected Central National Executive Committee member Robert Macharia termed Mohammed’s as a huge relief to Kenyan football.

    “It’s an overwhelming feeling. It is always not easy to get incumbent out of office because they have all powers. We didn’t have same level of playing ground but we made it. We are happy to have taken the leadership of the game. Things are bad, but we will make them better,” said Macharia,  who’s also Murang’a SEAL chairman.

    Barry Otieno collected 10 votes, Kakamega Homeboyz chairman and owner Cleophas Shimanyula (4), Sammy Owino (2) and Tom Alila (1). Sam Ochola and Chris Amimo got zero.

    To legalise the process despite Petra’s verbal withdrawal, FKF Electoral Board chairman Hesbon Owilla called for a run off for the first three candidates after the winner failed to garner 50+1 votes.

    Having seen his presidential ambitions dealt a blow in 2011, the Extreme Sports CEO has brilliantly made a comeback with his camp garnering seven National Executive Committee members seats as he aims to restore the federation’s reputational damage. Charles Njoka (Eastern), Caleb Amwayi (Western), Mohamed Dabar (North Eastern), Robert Macharia (Central), Collins Opiyo (Nyanza), Peter Kamau (Lower Rift) and Dan Shikanda (Nairobi) newly elected NEC members were all allied to Team Fresh Start. Gabriel Mghendi retained his Coast NEC member seat, Bernard Lagat clinched the Upper Rift Valley post, while Violet Kerubo Momanyi won the Women’s Representative NEC member seat.

    Despite seven of his NEC members being elected, Mohammed had to achieve his dreams the hard way through the run off.

    However, the game changer ahead of the second round came when Barry Otieno publicly declined advances from Petra on the floor to join Mohammed’s camp alongside Cleophas Shimanyula and KEFWA president James Situma. Sensing danger Petra concede defeat ahead of the second round.

    The tension was evident from onset with the exercise which was initially expected to start at 9am delayed for over two hours with some of candidates rumoured to be forming coalitions. There was a beehive of activities on most candidates’ camps on the eve of the eagerly anticipated exercise with candidates lobbying for votes.

    But when the exercise eventually kicked off, chaos suddenly erupted during the verification of the crucial voting materials as some candidates were accused of illegally continuing with campaigns and bribing delegates within the elections hall premises forcing the election officials to temporarily stop it. Prior to this, two camps of supporters almost got into a physical alteration at the arena’s main entrance as tension intensified.

    It was almost the same situation outside the hall as police engaged supporters of different candidates in running battles and lobbed teargas to disperse the crowd that had gathered at the Kasarani Stadium main gate.

    However, like the real boss of the day, FKF Electoral Board chairman Hesbon Owilla quickly intervened, and contained the situation in the arena. He read a riot act to the delegates who had sneaked out of the hall, warning to block them from participating in the elections.

    Once normalcy was restored after security reinforcement, the exercise went on smoothly until the entire NEC was elected.

  • Court Allows DCI, DPP To Investigate Nick Mwendwa Over Fraud Deal

    Court Allows DCI, DPP To Investigate Nick Mwendwa Over Fraud Deal

    Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa has lost his attempt to stop arrest and prosecution over misappropriation of funds at Kandanda House after the High Court dismissed a petition he had filled to gag the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) and the Direction of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

    Mwendwa had on 1st October, 2020 through lawyer Tom Ojienda sued DCI and DPP alongside Journalists Milton Nyakundi, who had filed a complaint with the Banking Fraud Investigation unit of DCI, seeking the court to find that Nyakundi had no locus to complain over FKF matters since he was not a member of the football governing body.

    However, Justice James Makau dismissed the petition saying it lacked merit and was premature and speculative.

    “I therefore find the petitioners’ prayers for an order of a permanent injunction prohibiting the DCI and DPP summoning, investigating, charging or prosecuting the petitioners with respect to financial management of FKF is not Justified in the circumstances of this case,” declared Justice Makau.

    Nyakundi had petitioned the BFIU and Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission to investigate fictitious transactions at Kandanda House, including direct transfer of funds from the federation’s to Mwendwa’s personal accounts.

    In his submission during the hearing, the FKF boss had urged that the summons by the DCI amounted to a violation of his fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution and the procedure to summoning him for statement recording had contravened the Fair Administrative Action Act.

    He had also maintained that acting in Nyakundi’s complaint was inappropriate for the reason that he was not a members of the FKF and that all financial translations had been given a clean bill of health through the federation’s internal audit system.

    Nyakundi argued that he had the right to move to court to seek recourse because FKF receives million of money from the public coffers and therefore accountability of such funds must be subjected to public finance management laws and regulations.

    The DCI and the DPP, on their part, had submitted that the investigation were just part of the judicial system and did not necessarily mean one is guilty.

  • FKF Under Auditor-General’s Probe Over Sh244 Million AFCON Funds

    FKF Under Auditor-General’s Probe Over Sh244 Million AFCON Funds

    Football Kenya Federation books have been placed under scrutiny by the Office of the Auditor-General over embezzlement of Sh244 million they received to cater for Harambee Stars’ preparation for this year’s AFCON.

    “FKF gave us their report and we sent it back with questions. We have passed the same report to the Office of the Auditor-General to look at it and give us their opinion on the expenditure figures reflected in the document.”Sports PS Kirimi Kaberia said on Thursday when he appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Sports.

    Last month, Nick Mwendwa led federation accused PS Kaberia creating bad blood between them and the government. They also have accused the PS of having an unresponsive attitude in their requests for funding from the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.

    Yesterday, on Thursday, the Chairman of the committee Victor Munyaka asked the PS to explain his altercation with FKF over the funds.

    “The report FKF provided had issues with accountability and the auditor is in the process of looking at the documents. I plead with the committee to allow the office to carry out the process so that we can give you factual information. Let’s hold another session and go through FKF issues. Probably away from the cameras and you will realize that there is a law governing the use of the money in the Fund. The accusations were not based on facts,” the PS said.