Fallout in Ingwe as claims of rigging rock the den

 Interestingly, the Sports Tribunal ordered the IMC to hold elections before the end of July after just eight months in office.Photo: Courtesy

A big fall-out has erupted in the AFC Leopard’s den after forgery claims were made by two contenders who lost in the recent elections held in Kasarani.

The two, Robert Asembo and Maurice Amahwa, claim that the AFC Leopard’s elections were rigged in favour of Dan Mule who was elected chairman.

While dismissing the process, Asembo claimed that Mule who was elected chairman did not win fairly.

“From my analysis of the voting process, something does not just add up. There were 21 voting stations but in eight of them, Mule got 51 votes each. How could that be possible if this was not a malpractice?” wondered Asembo adding that, “some of my votes were not counted and the voters register was interfered with. I will go to court to challenge the exercise.”

Asembo got 119 votes in his attempt to become the new chairman of AFC Leopards. It was the second time this year that the Nairobi lawyer is losing an election.

In February, he failed in his attempt to be re-elected as Football Kenya Federation (FKF) vice-chairman. Asembo has previously served as Secretary General of the club.

Amahwa who came second in the heated elections claims that the process was not fair but he has promised not to challenge the elections.

“I have decided to accept the results because it was overseen by credible institutions which include the IEBC and Sports Tribunal. However, I have my reservations about how some of the things were carried out. First of all, the register was messed up. The electoral board did not use bank statements presented by the branches, some names were removed from the registrar and there was no proper programme,” complained Amahwa.

Amahwa particularly took issue with the decision to close voting at 12.30pm instead of 5p.m.

“The process should have ended at 5p.m since by closing early, they denied many voters an opportunity to cast their ballots. I will not appeal because of the love I have for the club. I want them to do well with or without me at the helm. Otherwise the whole process was a big sham and will end up affecting the club.

Contacted, Mule denied the above allegations and particularly took issue with Asembo’s statement.

“Asembo has no legal basis to challenge my election. He was given an opportunity to have his agents in all the 21 polling stations. They could have detected any rigging activity if it was there,” he said, adding that, “If anything, it was Asembo who was trying to rig the process. About 800 University students were caught with signed ballot papers in his name trying to smuggle them inside the voting hall. The whole process was free and fair, and was overseen by credible observers.”

Asembo has since threatened to challenge the process in court in a move that is likely to lead to escalate wrangles in the club. It is worth noting that the electoral process itself was a culmination of a cocktail of chaotic processes that bedeviled the club for the last one year.

The unending wrangles ended up in court before the matter moved to the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) for determination. Meanwhile, SDT formed an Interim Management Committee (IMC) to run the club. The IMC comprised of three officials, each from warring factions.

Interestingly, the Sports Tribunal ordered the IMC to hold elections before the end of July after just eight months in office.