President Ruto, please help fix our football for the sake of hustlers 

President Ruto, please help fix our football for the sake of hustlers 

Dear President Ruto, on November 11, 2021,Sports CS then Amina Mohamed disbanded Football Kenya Federation after an audit report by the Sports Registrar Rose Wasike highlighted serious financial irregularities in the federation's books of accounts. They were found to be non-compliant with the Sports Act 2013 and other government laws.

The government formed an FKF transition committee to run football affairs in the country pending elections.

Fifa suspended us indefinitely from all international football activities over "government interference".

Meanwhile, three petitions were filed at the Sports Dispute Tribunal and one at the High Court in 2022 by the ousted officials challenging their removal from office. The petitions were found to have no merit as the CS Sports had acted within her mandate to remove them from office.

When your government came to power the new Sports CS reinstated the officials and the international ban was lifted by Fifa.

Nick Mwendwa was later reinstated as the President of FKF after his court case was suspended. I remember how the reinstated officials broke into the FKF office to gain access.

Mr President, since 2021, there has never been an FKF AGM for members. Two brave and smart National Executive Committee members - Nabea Mureithi and Ahmedqadar Mohamed Dabar, had to write to Fifa in protest to force FKF to hold their 2024 AGM.

That meeting, scheduled for last weekend March 16, was cancelled at the last minute due to a court order challenging the legality of this FKF administration in organising, not only the AGM, but all football activities in Kenya.

The AGM was turning to be a circus discussing an individual - Hussein Mohamed, a representative of a member club -- Muranga Seals, instead of discussing serious issues like mismanagement of funds and out falling football standards.

The AGM was also to pass an illegal election code that had been nullified by the Sports Dispute Tribunal in 2020 as it was against the laws and Constitution of Kenya together with an illegal elections board.

With the cancellation of the AGM, the elections that had been slated for between September and October this year are in limbo. If the court case drags on a constitutional crisis beckons as all the FKF branch chairmen and National Executive Committee members will vacate office by October 17 leaving only the FKF president and his secretariat to run football affairs in the country without any checks and balances. How is that possible? There will be nobody to approve FKF budgets and operations, including those of African Nations Championship (Chan) 2024 and Africa Cup Of Nations (Afcon) 2027. There will be no county leagues. 

Mr President, I am afraid the Sports Ministry is not absolved from blame here. It has entertained and abated some of the challenges highlighted and treated these FKF officials with kid gloves as footballers suffer.

Lest we forget, Your Excellency, the current administration at FKF is facing a court contempt ruling as a result of defying court orders with regards to their occupation of FKF offices. 

Because of the current situation the lives and livelihoods of many a hustlers who depend on football for a living are at risk.

When challenged to face the law after breaking them, the usual tired line of "Fifa shall ban us" is forced down the public throat. Investors cannot have confidence on such governance malpractices. 
All this actions are against the bottom up economic model of your administration. Football can be a great employer of many hustlers directly and indirectly. 

"Punda amechoka" Mr Ruto. The lack of transparency, accountability and integrity cannot provide a sustainable environment for hosting an international football event leave alone a successful local league. Look at how our leagues are struggling. In my time we did not have much but we were better of.

My experience as an international footballer informs me that if nothing is done now to change the situation, we will have no football in Kenya in the near future. 

Our children and grand children will hold us responsible for the ills that destroyed Kenyan football while we watched. 

Oliech is a former Kenya international and aspiring FKF president.