According to a formal convocation letter dated August 9th, 2024, signed by FKF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Barry Otieno and obtained by Flashscore News, a total of 92 delegates will be eligible to take part in the exercise set for the Sports View Hotel, in Nairobi, starting 10.00 am local time.
SGM to discuss nine major agendas
The letter further outlined the agenda of the SGM with the election/ratification of members of the FKF Electoral Committee/Board forming part of the nine key areas to be discussed.
“Pursuant to Article 31 (1), (4) and (5) of the FKF constitution 2017, the National Executive Committee met on Friday, August 9, 2024 and resolved to call for a Special General Meeting (SGM) on Saturday, August 24, 2024,” read part of the letter from Otieno seen by Flashscore.
“Formal convocation is hereby given that the Special General Meeting (SGM) of Football Kenya Federation (FKF) will be held on Saturday, August 24, 2024, at the Sports View Hotel, Nairobi at 10.00 am. Kindly note that each FKF invited member shall be represented by one delegate.”
Apart from approving the Electoral Board and date for election, other factors in the agenda will include roll call, the appointment of scrutineers, FKF activity report, the President’s address, approval of the annual audited financial statement; including the consolidated financial statement and the annual report, approval of the budget, vote on the adoption of the FKF Electoral Code (2019/2020) and closing remarks.
Among the members invited for the meeting are 48 FKF County branches, 18 FKF clubs participating in the FKF Premier League, 10 FKF clubs participating in the National Super League (NSL), 10 FKF clubs taking part in the National Division One league, three clubs playing in the FKF women’s Premier League, two clubs from the women’s National Super League and one representative of the Kenya Football Players Welfare Association.
The FKF Electoral Board, which is set to be approved by the delegates, will be chaired by lawyer Hesbon Owila. Others in the committee include Sports Journalist Association of Kenya (SJAK) President James Waindi, Alfred Ngang’a, Dan Mule, and Marceline Sande while Farida Lucia Juma and lawyer Robert Asembo have been put on the standby list.
FKF Electoral Code (2019/20) set for approval
Another burning issue during the SGM will be whether members will adopt the usage of the contentious Electoral Code (2019/20). 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.
“The FKF Electoral Code must be read and fulfilled alongside the FKF constitution, including its article 89 which makes a provision for transition and notes that all relevant electoral provisions shall come into effect in the 2019/2020 elections,” read part of the statement on the FKF Code obtained by Flashscore.
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.
On candidate eligibility, it stated: “The Electoral Board shall not impose any eligibility criteria or any other formal requirements that are not provided for in the FKF constitution and in this electoral code. The Electoral Board shall only request the documents that help establish whether the relevant eligibility criteria have been fulfilled.
The statement continued: “Such eligibility criteria and any other formal requirement shall be published on the FKF website.”
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 three 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.
“Such an endorsement shall be deemed as null and void,” explained the document, adding: “In the event of a dispute pertaining to double endorsements, the FKF General Secretary being the custodian of clubs and members’ registry, shall advise the board on which endorsement is valid.”
The statement added: “Being proposed as a candidate by a member shall be understood as a declaration of support. Each member may only present a declaration of support for one candidate for each position of President and Deputy President, such a declaration shall have been signed by the Chairperson and the Secretary of the branch, and by the Chairman of a club.
“If a member presents more than one declaration of support for any of these two positions, none of its declarations shall be deemed valid.”
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).
The statement concluded: “Any member, who wishes to contest for the position of President or Deputy President shall present his nomination forms and shall fulfil all the eligibility criteria required to vie for these positions as per this electoral code and the FKF constitution but failure of a candidate to comply with the above will render him/her ineligible to contest for the position of FKF President or Deputy-president and the Electoral Board shall disqualify such a candidate.
“Each candidate vying for the position of FKF President shall present a running mate for the position of FKF Deputy-president. In the absence of a running mate, the candidature for President will not be admitted.”
Kenya was facing FIFA sanctions after an aborted AGM
The decision by FKF to come up with a new date for the Special General Meeting comes after the World governing body FIFA had warned FKF that the East African nation risked sanctions if they did not proceed with their AGM and set up a date for the elections.
FKF had scheduled to hold their AGM on March 16th but sports journalist Milton Nyakundi moved to a Mombasa High Court a day before the exercise where he successfully obtained an order stopping the same citing the legality of the federation to convene the meeting.
In a statement from FIFA through Chief Member of Associates Kenny Jean-Marie, the world body warned against third-party interference. “We further wish to underline that a violation of this obligation by the FKF or its members may lead to sanctions as provided for in the FIFA Statutes, including a possible suspension,” read part of the letter copied to Otieno.
“In addition, please note that the order of the Mombasa High Court dated March 15, 2024, appears to amount to undue influence by third parties which could be considered as a violation of Article 19 paragraph 1 of the FIFA Statutes and Article 7 paragraph 1.g. of the CAF Statutes.”
Last November, FIFA lifted an indefinite nine-month ban imposed on Kenya after they had cited government interference. The SGM decision comes as good news for Kenya as they prepare to send the U17 women's national team for the World Cup to be held in the Dominican Republic from October 16th to November 3rd.
The Junior Starlets made history as the first Kenyan team to qualify for a World Cup tournament following their 5-0 aggregate win against Burundi in the final round of the qualifiers and have been drawn in Group C alongside North Korea, Mexico, and England.
The Starlets, who will be based at Santiago de los Caballeros, the second-largest city in the Dominican Republic and the fourth-largest city in the Caribbean by population, will kick off their campaign with a fixture against England at Cibao FC Stadium on October 17th, 2024.
Kenya under the guidance of head coach Mildred Cheche will return to action for their second fixture against North Korea on October 20th, before winding up their preliminary matches against Mexico on October 23rd at Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium.
Already several top officials have shown their interest in going for the top seat currently held by Nick Mwendwa.
They include former FKF President Sam 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.
