FKF Assembly passes Revised 2020 electoral code ahead of polls

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) General Assembly has on Saturday passed the electoral code for the upcoming election, in an SGM held at Nairobi Hotel.

The General Assembly has also passed the initially proposed Electoral Board, of five members and two named to be on standby.

The electoral code, is a slight revision of the 2020 version, endorsed by 82 delegates at the SGM.

Importantly, the revised code provides for those contesting for the FKF presidency to have been active in football matters for the past two years before the election.

In the initial code, they were required to have been active in the last three years before the elections, either as players, officials or administrators.

The amendment, among others especially in the eligibility criteria, was proposed by Tusker FC’s Charles Gacheru. This was after concerns were raised by two members, Luthers Mokua and Murang’a SEAL chairman Robert Macharia.

“I’m happy that we have started the journey to the elections, as the time for the current office bearers is almost over. I’m also happy that we have those few amendments; you have seen I had written raising a lot more concerns but at least some have been addressed.

“I however insist there is more to be done, especially on committees supposed to run the federation day to day activities, so that we don’t have issues escalating to courts every now and then,” he said, immediately after the SGM.

Hussein Mohammed, the Vice Chairman of Murang’a SEAL was conspicuously in attendance, and was also happy with the proceedings of the meeting.

“I’m happy, at least today you see me here, remember last time I could not be allowed. We have essentially started in earnest the journey towards the elections, which for me is very important. I thank all the delegates for the progress made. We have a big duty ahead of us and I want to believe we will get there,” said Hussein.

“I will be announcing on August 28, Friday, my candidature for the elections. All the details will be announced there,” he said, when asked to confirm if indeed he will be in the presidential race as he had announced before, especially after the revision of the electoral code.

Former FKF president Sam Nyamweya who was at the SGM as an official observer said it was important to set the road map to the elections.

“I came as an observer and I can confidently say the meeting went on well way beyond the expectations of many. It is very crucial that we start preparing for the elections because failure to do so invites a ban by FIFA.

“We have very serious football matters ahead of us, and we need our house in order as a country for us to successfully handle them. The Under-17 World Cup, CHAN, AFCON 2027 among other events requires that we finish this election matter so that we can concentrate on the main business. We must look at the bigger picture,” said Nyamweya.

FKF president Nick Mwendwa took time to highlight the success of his administration during his opening remarks, saying great strides have been made since his takeover from Nyamweya in 2016.

“In 2023, FKF made significant strides in coaching education. The federation certified 60 coaches with CAF A Licenses, the first such program in a decade, enhancing elite coaching capacity in domestic and international roles. We have 16 FIFA referees, the most in the region, we have qualified our Junior Starlets for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, and our Harambee Stars has been improving significantly since our readmission to international football.

“This demonstrates FKF’s commitment to better the game, and we believe much more can be achieved. The elections are coming, you will have a say on how you want, and I invite those eligible to go campaign – convince the delegates so that at the end we finish with this matter and concentrate on building our game,” said Mwendwa, who also took the chance to appeal to the members to avoid taking football disputes to ordinary courts.

Davis Ndayesiga of Rwanda was the official FIFA observer, sent from the FIFA Lead Regional Office in Kigali.