Kenya swimmers try to stay afloat as federation banned

Kenyan swimmers could miss the 2024 Paris Olympic Games after World Aquatics moved to ban the country from its activities after the national swimming federation failed to hold elections as required last month.

World Aquatics further directed its Kenya Aquatics Stabilization Committee to resume and finalise the electoral process and conduct elections within 90 days.

In a letter dated August 13 to the Stabilization Committee chairman Jace Naidoo, World Aquatics Bureau Executive Director Brent J. Nowicki said that the Bureau met to discuss these concerns and has determined to maintain the current suspension in place.

“And with this, we exclude Kenya from any activity within World Aquatics, including participation in its events,” said Nowicki.

The ban means that Kenyan swimmers, who were free to compete under neutral citizenship after Kenya was suspended in 2021, will not compete at all.

World Aquatics (then known as FINA) suspended Kenya Aquatics (the Kenya Swimming Federation) in January, 2021, until a new office is in place.
Owing to repeated failure to comply with World Aquatics rules and decisions and failing to hold elections besides encouraging swimmers to compete in events outside the country, World Aquatics disbanded KSF on June 28, 2022.

Instead, the World Aquatics established a three-man Stabilisation Committee headed by South Africa’s Jace Naidoo to run activities in the country and help KSF prepare for fresh elections.

The committee also had the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) Secretary General, Francis Mutuku and Moses Benon Mwase from Uganda.
The Stabilisation Committee that had been given six months battled to put July 7, this year, as the date for elections.

Violating the constitution

However, a court case instituted by swimming stakeholders Margaret Ndung’u Mwasha and Conrad Dermot Biltcliffe Thorpe at the High Court on March 19, 2021, challenging KSF, Sports Kenya, Sports Registrar and Attorney General to court, for violating the constitution, halted everything.

“Despite the installation of a Stabilisation Committee, the issues within Kenya Aquatics persist,” noted Nowicki in his letter to Naidoo.

Nowicki said that the Bureau continues to have deep concerns with respect to the ongoing failures within Kenya Aquatics with the continued failure of the Stabilisation Committee to hold elections and the historical inability to comply with the rules and decisions of World Aquatics.

Nowicki said that they have notified NOC-K on the latest development and that his office “remains open to any discussion.”

“This completely affects our top swimmers’ path to the Paris Olympics because failure to compete will deny them points towards the Summer Games,” said Mutuku, adding that the 90 days grace is a lifeline and a window to make things move.

Mutuku said they will meet the Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Nawamba in the course of this week to chat the way forward.

“The ban will continue if elections won’t be held within 90 days.”

Since 2013, under the leadership of Ben Ekumbo, the KSF has been characterised by incessant wrangles, denying talented youth opportunities to advance their careers.

Not even change in leadership at the federation in 2016, when Ekumbo resigned as KSF president under a dark cloud of the 2016 Olympics Team Kenya kits scandal, put an end to the wrangles.

The wrangles continued under the late Patrick Muyah’s leadership. Muyah passed on in April 2021.

The federation’s elections had been postponed twice in two years, prompting FINA to suspend KSF in January, 2021, until a new office is in place.