Football Kenya Federation president, Nick Mwendwa, was Wednesday left with an egg on his face after Sports Registrar – Rose Wasike, insisted on meeting a FIFA delegation that was in the country without him.
Instead, acting CEO – Barry Otieno, represented the federation at the meeting with the team led by the Regional FIFA Development Officer Sara Solemane at NSSF building.
Kurunzi understands Mwendwa and the three-member FIFA team had gone to Wasike’s office after a meeting at Kencom House (ministry of sports) but she stood her ground she would not sit down with Mwendwa.
Wasike has been hard in Mwendwa after the FKF boss reportedly declined a meeting with her prior to the elections which were eventually nullified by the Sports Disputes Tribunal.
She maintains the elections would not go on if the federation does not fully comply with the Sports Act 2013 and the sports registrar’s regulations 2016. According to the regulations, the federation cannot hold any elections without having county and sub-county associations registered.
FKF have released a new Electoral Code that suggests the elections would start at the branch (county) then national level and conclude at the sub-branch (sub-county). This has left stakeholders up in arms, saying the order is designed to disenfranchise the grassroots level.
Also in contention is the applicable FKF Constitution as the federation has contradicted the 2012 and 2017 documents, the registrar maintaining the latter document would not apply because it has not been given the nod by her office.
Earlier, Mwendwa had attempted to lock out other stakeholders out of a possible meeting with the FIFA team but he ended up having a taste of his own medicine at the registrar’s office.
With Mwendwa’s term in office due to end on 10 February 2020 it remains to be seen how matters will pan out if the polls would not have been held by that time.
The SDT, in its ruling, directed that stakeholders and the public be engaged in the process of new elections which must be held in accordance with the Sports Act 2016, FIFA Statutes, the FIFA Standard Electoral Code and the sports registrar’s regulations 2016.
