Kenya Aquatics challenges appointment of Olympics team manager
Maria Bianchi in action at the Aga Khan Academy pool during a past championship organised by the Mombasa County Swimming Association (MCSA).
What you need to know:
- Mr Marigiri says that selecting athletes and team managers is a competitive process, and the SDT has no jurisdiction and capacity to carry out the process.
- Justice Olga Sewe sitting in Mombasa has directed the case file be transferred before the Presiding Judge of the Judicial Revision Division of the High Court in Nairobi for consideration and further directions.
Kenya Aquatics has moved to court seeking permission to challenge the Sports Dispute Tribunal’s (SDT) decision to second the appointment of Jen Monyo Maina as team manager for the Kenyan swimming team for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
In its application initially filed at the High Court in Mombasa, Kenya Aquatics is seeking to be allowed to apply for a judicial review order to have the decision by SDT quashed.
Should the permission be granted, Kenya Aquatics also wants (permission) to serve as a stay (suspension) of proceedings and a decision of the SDT seconding the appointment of Ms Maina.
Apart from Ms Maina, it has named the National Olympic Committee of Kenya Secretary-General, Francis Mutuku, and Collins Marigiri as interested parties.
According to Kenya Aquatics, SDT in its decision on June 24 and affirmed by another on July 17, purported to appoint and second Ms Maina as the team manager for the Kenyan swimming team for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics Games.
Maria Brunlehner and Ridhwan Mohamed are the country' swimmers at the Summer Games.
It argues that SDT has no jurisdiction to appoint and second team managers, and that the decision is ultra vires (beyond legal powers).
Kenya Aquatics also says that SDT has declared irregular, unlawful, null, and void the criterion for Kenya’s swimming team for Paris set out in the Kenya Swimming Federation advertisement requiring that a team manager must be a Kenyan citizen residing in Kenya is irregular, unlawful null, and void.
The aquatics association says that by doing so, SDT has clothed itself with the jurisdiction of the High Court.
“The decision to appoint the team manager lies with the applicant (Kenya Aquatics), even after nullifying the criterion, SDT ought to allow it (Kenya Aquatics) to appoint and second a team manager afresh without disqualifying any candidate on account of the impugned criterion,” argues Kenya Aquatics.
Kenya Aquatics says that SDT ought to remain within its jurisdiction and not clothe itself with the jurisdiction of appointing and seconding a team manager.
In his affidavit, Kenya Aquatics Secretary-General, Collins Marigiri, stated that the decision to second Mr Maina is discriminatory to other candidates, who have not had a chance to be selected under the criteria as revised by the SDT.
Mr Marigiri says that selecting athletes and team managers is a competitive process, and the SDT has no jurisdiction and capacity to carry out the process.
Justice Olga Sewe sitting in Mombasa has directed the case file be transferred before the Presiding Judge of the Judicial Revision Division of the High Court in Nairobi for consideration and further directions.
