Battle to restore hygiene to Kenyan football has started

By now you will be well aware of Thursday’s court directive that seemed to exonerate Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa from graft allegations.

The move to close Mwendwa’s file and refund the Sh4 million cash bail has invited all manner of interpretations – each of them laden with much nuance and emotion – and even now, few can agree on what exactly the court directive means for the future of Mwendwa as FKF head. That in itself feels like warning sign.

I am a mere journalist and matters of the law are obviously beyond my expertise. But from where I sit, two things seem evident.  

One, it is clear that the Ministry of Sports was not adequately prepared for the case.

In their hurry to bring Mwendwa to court, they failed to consolidate a strong case against him. This latest development is embarrassing for Cabinet Secretary  Amina Mohamed and her team in the short term, yes, but probably the reminder you need to buckle up.

The battle to restore hygiene to Kenyan football has just began, and the fight promises not to tough.

Graft cases

As is often the case with graft cases, there will be no direct wins. And the U-turns are not about to end. Alas, even when there is glaring evidence of wrong doing, the timeline can indeed get worse.

One hopes that the failure by DCI to prefer charges against the embattled football chief is a tactical retreat as they firm up whatever evidence they have and prepare to charge him afresh. The proper way this time.

Whether Mwendwa wins the case at the end of it all or not, another reality stands. He is out of the hearts and minds of most Kenyan football lovers. The big question on most people’s lips is: Will we see a return of Nick Mwendwa to Kandanda House?

Even if he does, he will have to deal with overwhelming dissent from many quarters. Clubs have already indicated their willingness to move on with the league, sponsors, read StarTimes, have begun to pull out due to the ensuing quagmire.

Is that the kind of environment anyone wants the man at the helm of local football to operate in? Well, a good friend recently said that Mwendwa is like Mourinho. He was good a decade ago.

Glaring facts

No one normal needs a court to dispense a ruling on glaring facts. Money was lost and no amount of spin and obfuscation can erase that fact. If it wasn’t, may we should be shown how to unsee the movement of millions of taxpayers money into private individuals’ accounts.

The closing of his file doesn’t make Mwendwa innocent. The fight for sanctity with regards to our country’s football doesn’t end just because the State couldn’t execute their case.  

This back and forth is really the absolute last thing the country needs. This issue of arresting prominent public officers with so much haste and spectacle, only for the case to fizzle out afterwards is really getting old.

It would be nice to think that this style of governance, where arrests are the whole point, rather than a step towards justice, will someday end.

Given the scale and complexity of the challenges, and the emotions involved in Mwendwa’s case, it appears football stakeholders, no matter what side of the divide you are in, are in for a roller-coaster ride.  

[email protected]