Kenyan player Saumya Gupta during a training session on July 27.
Just who will save Kenyan badminton players from the leadership wrangles that have left the game in turmoil for seven years?
Do the warring factions at Badminton Kenya (BK) care about the game and the welfare of the players? Does missing out on international events for over three years send a message to the warring factions, and why has the government, which helped fan the mess, continue to stay on the periphery?
That local badminton administrators and government officials find it hard to intervene even after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) suspended the country in 2021 is shocking.
Stakeholders thought that BK had witnessed a new dawn when it acquired its first modern competition and training mats courtesy of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) on September 11, 2020.
The presentation of the four competitions and one training mat worth Sh1.5 million by NOC-K president, Paul Tergat, at Aryan Samaj Sports Hall in Parklands, Nairobi, also saw warring factions at the federation declare a truce.
The two factions, one led by BK president, Peter Muchiri who is recognised by the government, and another led by Geoffrey Shigoli who had the blessings of BWF, shook hands, vowing to end the wrangles that had throttled the game, interfering with national teams’ training, among other programmes since 2017.
Shigoli is the secretary general of his faction, with Danny Solanki as president and Palas Chanda as treasurer. On the other hand, Muchiri’s side has John Mburu as secretary general, while Malika Sud is the treasurer.
Instead, the wrangles heightened as BWF moved in to suspend Kenya on March 9, 2021, with BWF secretary general, Thomas Lund, disclosing that the suspension shall last until warring parties at BK organise fair and transparent elections in line with BWF requirements.
Furthermore, Lund said, in a letter addressed to factions led by Muchiri and Shigoli, that the process shall be subject to confirmation by the BWF Annual General Meeting held on May 22 this year.
The suspension deprived them of their ability to vote in BWF General Meetings, receive funding or membership grants, and directly enter players in competitions.
Lund said in a letter that was also copied to NOC-K, who had tried to mediate, that any solution reached will have to involve the warring parties to be endorsed by the BWF.
Lund noted that the BWF Council was forced to come up with the harsh decision since the dispute between the parties had lasted for almost four years and that there was no expectation to resolve the issue.
NOC-K has stepped in to enter players to key events, a process that has seen Kenyan players miss key events for ranking towards the Commonwealth and Olympic Games.
No player qualified for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games held in 2021 due to Covid-19, and the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, even though two (Sammy Sikoyo and Sumya Gupta) participated at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Things went from bad to worse forcing badminton players to petition NOC-K after Gupta was barred from competing in some international tournaments in October 2022.
That saw BWF move into action as Lund mandated NOC-K to lead the charge in bringing reforms at BK to lay the ground for fresh elections and return Kenya to the international fold.
Gupta’s case amplified what Kenyan sportsmen and women from the banned federations are going through without proper competitions and leagues in the country.
NOC-K, who had been at the forefront of resolving years of wrangles at BK without success, wrote to BWF highlighting the players’ plight while pitching for a way out of the quagmire.
In May last year, NOC-K announced that BK would go to the polls on August, 25, putting in place a committee chaired by the Weightlifting Federation of Kenya Secretary General, John Ogolla, to spearhead the programme that will include the BK constitution review, registering players, clubs, and counties.
However, all was in vain. But is there finally some light at the end of the tunnel?
There are conflicting reports on whether a truce has been reached after Muchiri disclosed in an interview that they have closed ranks after resolving their differences and trying to engage BWF before the Paris Olympic Games.
The warring parties are said to have buried their hatchet in the absence of Shigoli, who resigned last year to take up a new position at the Badminton Confederation of Africa, leaving his faction in the hands of George Opunga.
“We have written to BWF and NOC-K is also aware of the development after we signed an agreement and we are waiting for the response from the world body,” said Muchuri, adding that they are ready for elections any time and hope that the suspension will be lifted.
NOC-K Secretary General Francis Mutuku said that they are delighted with the new development, but take it with a pinch of salt, considering that they have been in that scenario many times.
“They have several times come to us purporting to have agreed, but someone within goes to court to scuttle the gains made,” said Mutuku, adding that they shall wait for the response from BWF.
However, sources within warring parties indicated that things could get complicated with another breakaway group that has players like Victor Odera and Abraham Wogute coming up.
“The NOC-K was given the mandate to solve the impasse, but four years down the road, nothing has been achieved but cheap politics,” said Shigoli.
Where did the rain start beating Badminton Kenya? Cashing on the loophole of Shigoli’s group not having been officially registered despite taking part in BWF events, Muchiri’s group obtained a certificate of registration from the Registrar of Sports office.
Shigoli’s group got an injunction at the High Court, which enabled them to hold elections that paved the way for Solanki as chairman.
Badminton was now split in the middle with BWF recognising Shigoli’s group with the government backing Muchiri, but it was Shigoli’s group that was allowed to participate in NOC-K elections on September 29, 2017, that saw Tergat elected unopposed. BK was barred from voting following the suspension by BWF.
Efforts by NOC-K and BWF to bring the warring factions together almost bore fruits when elections were convened in April 2019, but Shigoli’s group withdrew a few days into the process citing anomalies.
The elections proceeded with Muchiri’s group taking charge, but BWF didn’t recognise the results and continued backing Shigoli’s group before it struck to suspend Kenya.
Will the newfound truce hold water this time around to pave the way for elections at BK? Only time will tell.
