Proposed federation constitution a sham

What you need to know:

  • This season’s Kenyan Premier League (KPL) is slowly drawing to a close and the fight at the bottom is turning out some scores that are rising our eyebrows.
  • We have lately witnessed very high scoring matches that leave some of us – who are naturally pessimistic and doubting Thomases – with the feeling that something fishy is going on.
  • Forgive us for doubting but we are of the humble opinion that they are questionable and the authorities concerned should use their olfactory organs and confirm to us whether it is mud fish or something else that assails our noses.

This season’s Kenyan Premier League (KPL) is slowly drawing to a close and the fight at the bottom is turning out some scores that are rising our eyebrows.

We have lately witnessed very high scoring matches that leave some of us – who are naturally pessimistic and doubting Thomases – with the feeling that something fishy is going on.

Forgive us for doubting but we are of the humble opinion that they are questionable and the authorities concerned should use their olfactory organs and confirm to us whether it is mud fish or something else that assails our noses.

That is just a by the way. Our main concern this week is with the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Annual General Meeting (AGM) set to be held in Mombasa on November 18 this year.

The AGM was set to partly discuss the newly proposed FKF constitution. Among the proposed amendments in the new constitution is the extension of the terms of the president and National Executive Committee members for a further one term from the current maximum two terms of four years each.

There were many other contentious issues that some of us who would love a better football body in the country thought would be included.

These proposals for amendment have been excluded in the most merciless fashion even before they are discussed. The legal committee of the same body had proposed that Article 26 touching on eligibility of a person to get elected into office.

Among the requirements the technical committee had proposed are; (a) A person seeking office must have a certificate of good conduct (b) the person must have a tax clearance certificate (c) the person must have a Higher Education Loans Board certificate (d) the person must have a Credit Reference Bureau Certificate (e) the person must be cleared by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.

All these requirements have been shot down.

The reasons for this are of course very clear and we know them. Sports administration in this country is notorious for attracting the worst among us. Pests that cannot stand all those requirements mentioned in article 26.

How did the legal committee expect the vermin worming their way into top echelons of football administration in Kenya to have certificate of good conduct? Aren’t they generally from a crooked mould?

The credit reference bureau and the ethics and anti-corruption clearances could clean this stable and maggots do not like disinfected places. this proposal was shot down.

Another article that became casualty is 57. It touches on FKF General Secretary or Chief Executive Officer answerable to the federation president. The legal committee had proposed that the position  be held by a person not affiliated to any FKF leagues and clubs to avoid conflict. That proposal did not sail through.