Trio petitions government to halt funding to FKF

Three individuals have petitioned the government to stop funding Football Kenya Federation (FKF). The three; Philip Nyingi Maina, Jeremiah Mwangi and Moses Otieno Okumu, argue that the current officeholders in the federation are there illegally.

In their petition, the trio state that the current officeholders entered the offices claiming reinstatement on November 4th, 2022, but the reinstatement was not officially gazetted.

It is, however, notable that the National Executive Committee (NEC)  members were removed from office by the former Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed through a gazette notice dated November 12, 2021.

“The leave be granted to the Ex-parte applicants to apply for judicial review order of prohibition against 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd respondents (Ministry of Sports officials) jointly and severally from disbursing any funds or public funds to the Football Kenya Federation unless and until there is a legitimate National Executive Committee,” the trio's petition reads in part.

The three are calling for the FKF to be scrutinized under Section 52 of the Sports Act of 2013. They believe that a thorough investigation is necessary to address issues related to the current officeholders' legitimacy. Justice Jairus has certified the case as urgent and indicated that he will notify the parties about the ruling dates.

On November 5th, 2021, an inspection committee appointed by the ministry to investigate the FKF identified serious non-compliance issues. These findings necessitated the removal of the then-officials to facilitate investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). The gravity of the issues raised prompted immediate action to ensure a thorough investigation.

During this period, a caretaker committee was appointed to manage the affairs of the FKF. This interim arrangement aimed to maintain the continuity of football operations and governance while the investigations were underway.

Further accusations were pointed to the government officials who turned a blind eye to this and did not follow up to ensure what the committee implemented had been implemented.

“The respondents are condoning the disbursement of public funds to the custody of the former office bearers of FKF despite the report recommendation of the ministry`s inspection committee,” Maina said.