Kilundo moves to SDT, wants KVF poll results nullified
New Kenya Volleyball Federation President Charles Nyaberi (right) and his main challenger David Kilundo during the polls at Nyayo Stadium on August 19, 2023. Nyaberi is the Team Kenya overall Team Manager for the Accra 2023 African Games.
What you need to know:
- Certifying the case commenced by presidential seat loser David Kilundo, the deputy chairperson of the tribunal Elynah Shiveka said glaring irregularities during August 19 election tainted the entire exercise.
A case seeking to cancel the poll results of the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) has been certified as urgent by the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT).
Certifying the case commenced by presidential seat loser David Kilundo, the deputy chairperson of the tribunal Elynah Shiveka said glaring irregularities during August 19 election tainted the entire exercise.
Shiveka said the alleged illegal voters from five counties that were allowed to participate in the polls dented the results.
She observed that the case filed by has merit thus calling for an inquiry and probe by SDT into the entire the exercise over allegations of violations of the KVF Constitution.
She added: “The issues raised by the runners-up during the August 19, 2023 KVF polls, David Kilundo, have brought to the fore glaring anomalies which needs to be canvassed and determined at a full trial.”
In her brief ruling Shiveka said: “The appeal by Kilundo has merit and deserves to be fully canvassed and determined.”
She directed the petitioner to serve the parties he has named as respondents to answer the allegations of gross misconduct and a blatant violation of the KVF rules and regulations.
During last Saturday's polls, Kilundo who vied for the presidency, was defeated by a margin of 14 votes by Charles Nyaberi who garnered 117 votes. Five were spoilt.
Nyaberi's election is pending registration at the Registrar of Sports to mandate him run the affairs of the federation.
Kilundo claims there were glaring irregularities during the national elections, which the presiding polls officials failed to address thus making the entire exercise a nullity.
In his appeal to the SDT, Kilundo plus, Robson Abonyo Akoth and Joseph Irungu Kimemia, have named Nyaberi, KVF and Sports Registrar as the respondents.
Kilundo alleges people who were not eligible to participate in the polls were allowed to cast their ballots thus causing a “stalemate and a temporary stop to the voting process.”
Kilundo alleges that officials of the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), who were incharge of the elections, witnessed the irregularities but did nothing.
Kilundo said foul that five ineligible counties were allowed to participate in the polls that were ordered to be conducted by the High Court following an application by lawyer Geoffrey Langat who had challenged the modus operandi of the running of KVF.
“I keenly followed the entire polling exercise then I finally realised that there were five (5) extra counties which participated in the elections irregularly, thus making the county branches which cast their ballots to thirty-eight (38) counties,” says Kilundo in a supporting affidavit to the case.
He has enlisted the said "ineligible counties" as Turkana, Wajir, Samburu, Tana River and Lamu which he says "did not carry out county branch elections as directed by the high court and the SDT early this years.”
“That by dint of failure to conduct elections to pick three delegates to participate in the national exercise illegitimately participated in national elections held on August 19 2023,” Kilundo adds.
The said the branches in contention represented fifteen (15) votes as each branch had three (3) delegates.
Further, Kilundo discloses that the said five county branches are not registered with the Registrar of Sports.
Also the secretariat of KVF has no records of the five counties.
Kilundo is asking SDT to enforce the law since the federation, in blatant violation and contravention of its own Constitution and Sport Act 2013, “allowed ineligible voters to participate in an election which catalysed his loss for the presidency."
The total number of voters as announced by IEBC officials who presided over the exercise was 223, and the total votes garnered by two candidates is 220 with 1 rejected ballot with 4 stray ballots.
Kilundo says the total expected valid votes cast were 213 which if distributed, the branches should have accounted for 114, teams/ cubs should have had 75 votes while the four institutional branches total votes would have had 12. The national executive committee (NEC) had members 12.
Presidential total votes cast were 221 which surpassed the valid expected number of voters by eight, Kilundo states.
The dispute will be heard within seven days.
