FKF's electoral board independence questioned

FKF presidential aspirant Hussein Mohammed (left) with delegates during the launch of his campaign in Nairobi on August 28. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

“Why is the FKF Electoral Board operating from Kandanda House, it’s like the President is contesting but IEBC is based at State House? Which measures have you put in place to ensure Fifa rules and regulations are followed?”

That is one of the questions fielded to Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen by lawmakers when he appeared before the National Assembly on Wednesday.

This came barely a few days after the Hesbon Owilla-led Board was unveiled to oversee the delayed Football Kenya Federation elections in December this year. Other members on the Board are lawyer Marcelene Sande (secretary), former AFC Leopards chairman Dan Mule, communication expert Alfred Nganga, and journalist James Waindi.

Though Murkomen revealed plans of lending an independent facility to the Board and engaging Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to help them in running the elections, the CS was asked to explain the measures his ministry has put in place to ensure no federation official extends the mandate after the expiry of their terms.

While the Sports Act 2013 states that newly elected office bearers shall hold office for a period of four years and may be elected for one further term, Murkomen said that those officials who have served for two terms are free to contest for any other position at the upcoming polls.

“A letter went out from the Sports Registrar expressively to FKF that no one will run for the same office for more than two terms under the Sports Act. That’s very clear and I believe that the officials of FKF are holding office now if they want to run for office, maybe a different office other than the one that they have served for two terms,” said Murkomen.

“When we got into office, one of the things I promised during vetting here in this house is that I was going to do everything possible to make sure FKF does elections in the first place. So, I’m happy we have an election day. Now, we have the Electoral Board which is part of FKF’s regulations.

“I’m going to have a meeting with the Board to see if we can lend them neutral government facilities to operate their elections from and whether we can also find ways of supporting them technically with IEBC so that the elections are as transparent as possible. That’s the conversation we are having, and the candidates are busy campaigning."

He continued: “Our desire is to deliver credible elections. We know that it’s not the government per se that is in charge of the elections, but we have the oversight responsibility and the office of the Registrar is working very hard to make sure that independence is achieved. We really want a properly working FKF that has the credibility and confidence of the stakeholders so that football can reach the stature that the people of Kenya want. I promise that I will make sure we deal with that.”

The lawmakers’ concerns were echoed by FKF presidential aspirant Hussein Mohammed who challenged the Board to conduct transparent, free, fair, and credible elections.

“The FKF Electoral Board must demonstrate its independence by operating from a neutral location, entirely detached from Kandanda House. This is crucial to ensure the electoral process remains free from undue influence by current FKF officials, many of whom are also contenders,” said Mohammed.

“We are acutely aware of past and ongoing attempts to manipulate the voter register by certain individuals within the FKF Secretariat. This practice cannot be allowed to continue. The voter register must be made public, transparent, and safeguarded from tampering to ensure that every eligible voter has a fair say in this election.”

Just like Murkomen, the Murang'a SEAL vice president wants the involvement of the IEBC in the exercise.

“To guarantee impartiality and professionalism, we strongly urge the Electoral Board to engage the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to oversee the elections. The IEBC has the technical expertise and experience necessary to ensure a credible and transparent process,” said Mohammed.

But addressing the press after being unveiled on Monday, Electoral Board chairman Hesbon Owilla assured football stakeholders of transparent and credible elections.

"We have already understood the assignment before us and I'm confident the lineup that I'm headlining will deliver. We will ensure the election process runs to its conclusion," Owilla said.

"We have met, packed ideas and are united to deliver in such a way that we will hold high standards of integrity to ensure every vote counts in these elections.”