My opponents want me jailed Mwendwa

Godfrey Ashiali     in Nairobi

Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa has apportioned blame to a section of his opponents for the federation’s top seat for frustrating his office by endless litigation.

The Mwendwa led FKF has had to fight numerous cases filed at the Sports Disputes Tribunal which has left a sour taste in his mouth.

Mwendwa lost his cool last week when he called out SDT chairman Senior Counsel John Ohaga for ‘meddling in football affairs’.

He however insists he won’t be intimidated.

In a tell all interview on Mulembe FM sports programme ‘Emibayo Extra’, Mwendwa said that his opponents are determined to get him arrested and jailed to block him from defending his seat.

“Politics is about people’s opinion. Those who want to vie ask them if they have delegates to vote them in,” Mwendwa told yours truly, adding: “That is their major headache and it’s why they want to see Nick Mwendwa arrested and put behind bars to stop me from being on the ballot,” the former Kariobangi Sharks boss explained.

“All those efforts to move to the tribunal are aimed at one thing: to ensure that elections are held in my absence,” Mwendwa claimed.

Former FKF supremo Sam Nyamweya and his allies successfully petitioned the Sports Dispute Tribunal to halt the FKF elections which were set for March claiming it was an abuse of the court process for the football body to go ahead with elections.

“It is an abuse of the Court process for Football Kenya Federation as the Petitioner in this matter to purport to continue with the FKF electoral process before the determination of the matter at the Sports Disputes Tribunal.”

“The impunity exhibited by Football Kenya Federation in purporting to validate the voter register and the setting of election date for the purported County elections and National elections presupposes a predetermined outcome in the Petition No 3 of 2020 and consolidated petitions and cross petitions thereto,” Nyamweya said in a statement sent to the press in March this year.

Meanwhile, the football chief has also declared that FKF is fully prepared to start running the top-tier league KPL from September this year when the contract they had with the league managing body expires.

The agreement has been in place since 2004.

KPL has been at loggerhead with FKF on a number of issues the latest being the move by Mwendwa to end the league calendar and consequently declare Gor Mahia the 2019-20 league champions in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that has occasioned global shutdown of sports.

“These people will have their contract expiring in two months to come. When we hit July 7th they will be remaining with two months till September and that is when we will be taking over the running of the league. They should be looking for something else to do,” a tough-talking Mwendwa concluded.