The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Caretaker Committee now Transition Committee extended mandate is officially coming to a close on Sunday, but what’s the way forward for Kenyan football?Installed in November last year subsequent to the disbandment of the FKF Executive by the outgoing Cabinet Secretary for Sports Amina Mohamed over alleged graft, the caregivers were to drain the swamp, and instill good governance at Kandanda House.Apart from running the game per the FKF rules, the body was to amend the FKF Constitution and align it with the Sports Act 2013, conduct fresh elections, and hand over the seat of football to a new set of officials.Transition Committee postpones league kick off yet againYet, a year down the line, apart from coming up with a draft constitution, which is yet to be adopted as it can only be effected within the structures of FKF, which are not in place, the FKF Caretaker/Transition Committee has been, in less corrosive words, a monumental failure!The less said about the chaotic running of the leagues under the Caregivers the better. The Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT) even ruled that the 2021/22 Kenyan Premier League season was conducted without the requisite FKF judicial bodies, basically annulling it.As they clear their desks, the Caregivers have, for the umpteenth time, made recommendations, but none clear cut, according to a close source that spoke to Mozzart Sport anonymously. “Our hands are tied. The biggest stumbling block is the High Court judgment of May, which validated Amina’s (Mohamed) actions. It has not been challenged, and so Amina may not want to go against her own actions by reinstating the entire FKF Executive. We also cannot adopt the draft constitution without the FKF Executive, which was disbanded.””But I think, if Nick Mwendwa (the former FKF president) is the one having problems with the courts, then why not have the rest of the Executive back without him?” the source paused.Mwendwa, who was serving his second term of office, was arraigned for corruption after an audit report sanctioned by the Cabinet Secretary unearthed abuse of office and embezzlement.##NAJAVA_MECA_6724263##While handing FKF an indefinite ban over third-party interference in February, as a consequence of the CS Amina’s moves, the world’s football governing body, FIFA clearly spelled out conditions for the same to be lifted, chief being the unconditional reinstatement of the Mwendwa-led office and re-opening of the Kandanda House.In his view, as a first step towards finding a solution to the current impasse, former General Secretary of FKF, Lordvick Aduda, with the Caregivers’ mandate done, the premises at Kandanda House should be re-opened immediately. But since it was declared a crime scene, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, DCI should be engaged in the process.”It will be a huge step towards complying with the FIFA directives. From there, we can have a tri-petite roundtable, involving FIFA, the government and stakeholders on the way forward.”Aduda is adamant that no single party should hold Kenyan football at ransom, “we need the game back as soon as possible, because the people who directly depend on it are suffering, nobody should feel more important than the game if there are individuals who should clear their names before they’re allowed back then let them do so, but in the meantime, football should be back.”Face saving FKF Transition Committee embarks on charm offensive with list of ‘achievements’He is open to the formation of a Normalisation Committee to run the football affairs before fresh elections are conducted.”The High Court judgment cannot be brushed aside because it has not been challenged, to find a solution to it, we may need a Normalisation Committee.”FKF Transition Committee lists 12 recommendations for adoptionOn his part, sports lawyer Elvis Majani wants whatever recommendations that will come from the FKF Transition Committee to be handed over to the new Cabinet Secretary for Sports for action.”If Amina cannot get us out of this situation, then let the next Cabinet Secretary for Sports handle the matter,” Majani said.For the time being, almost everything has stalled. A planned resumption of football activities, starting with the leagues, stalled last month as clubs, who are engaged in endless preseason, made it known that they would not take part in a non-FIFA recognised competitions. To save face, the FKF Transition Committee iced the plans, promising to engage clubs on the way out. The results of the engagement, we may never know.
