AFC Leopards chairman Dan Shikanda has declared intent to defend his seat in the upcoming club polls scheduled for June 2022.The current office’s term comes to an end in June with club members set to elect new officials who will serve for a three-year term. The date for the polls is yet to be announced but campaigns have already intensified.Shikanda has announced that he wants to defend his seat with treasurer Maurice Chichi equally keen on securing a second term in the same position. The only official who will be exiting the scene is Secretary General Oliver Sikuku who has served in the position for two terms and is barred by the club constitution for vying for another term.“First and foremost, let me take this opportunity to appreciate each and every one of you for your continued support to our club. The support throughout this season has been tremendous and it can’t go unnoticed. Close, to three years back, I presented myself to you requesting your support to be the AFC Leopards SC Chairperson,” he said in a statement to the fans.BREAKING: Dr. Dan Shikanda has been elected new @AFCLEOPARDS Chairman after garnering 456 votes. Lawyer Ben Musundi came in second with 165 votes. Former CEO Ronald Namai garnered 72 votes. pic.twitter.com/lnnvmu2rzo— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) June 23, 2019 He admitted he was unable to meet some of his pledges due to unforeseen circumstances. “I came in determined to take AFC Leopards to where it belongs with proper and detailed blue print to guide us in the implementation. We have been in office for three years and I would like to admit that, due to unavoidable or rather prevailing circumstances during the period, we were unable to fully implement the blue print. “Some of the challenges we faced include; The global pandemic, that largely disrupted / slowed down the operations in many organizations, and AFC Leopards was not an exception, Withdrawal of sponsorship 2 months into the office. Lack of full anticipated revenue from the Kenya governing football body – FKF. FIFA sanctions that made us unable to sign in any new players, and we re-sorted to beefing up our squad from the youth team, who have done well to date,” he added.He went on to ask the fans to re elect him for a second and final term pledging to help the club reclaim its lost glory.“Having said that, it’s very clear that I have a critical role to play to achieve the clubs dreams of reclaiming it’s glory. It is for this reason that I am requesting for your support to continue serving you,” he continued.It’s exactly One Year since Dan Shikanda was elected @AFCLeopards Chairman. How do you rate his performance so far— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) June 23, 2020 “One of the key issues that I am determined to act upon once re-elected is to attain financial sustainability of the club. This will be achieved through activities such as investing in physical infrastructures where efforts towards this are at advance stages and we will keep all of you updated as we progress,”“Secondly, we are putting in more efforts on the playing unit, to ensure we achieve quality, better performance as well as continue playing attractive entertaining football with positive results. For continuity of all the above, its my humble request you allow me to complete the journey I started three years ago, through the up coming elections” he concluded.Former CEO Ronald Namai is eyeing the chairman’s position. The position of Secretary General has attracted three candidates; they are Coast Branch chairman; Gilbert Andugu, Robert Situma and Tony Omusina. Former treasurer Oliver Napali is eyeing to unseat Chichi.
