Nock calls General Assembly in veiled defiance of IOC

The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) made the first step towards defying directives from the International Olympic Committee on Friday when its Executive Committee members called for a fresh General Assembly Meeting.

The announcement made by Nock Secretary General Francis Kinyili Paul at their Nairobi headquarters went against the guideline given by the IOC in Thursday’s letter addressed the embattled national body’s top officials.

In the letter, the IOC clarified Nock’s meeting was supposed to yield a new date for the Elective General Assembly meeting with the same agenda and conditions held constant as they were during the adjourned May 5 polls.

Thus, the next meeting ought to have marked the date on which the polls that were at the time halted by a court injunction would resume and conclude.

Instead, Nock has called a General Assembly Meeting on September 5 to discuss matters concerning the election.

“The meeting was good and attended by all members. We have agreed as Nock we have our own views and we found it necessary to call a Special General Assembly so that members can decide on the date of the elections.

“The General Assembly will decide a lot of things whether they want fresh polls, date of elections, or if they want things to remain the same and continue with the CMD (Center for Multiparty Democracy-Kenya),” said Paul.

IOC had directed that all disputes or cases relating to the elections be forwarded to the Electoral Board or the General Assembly but Nock appear to be choosing a different route.

“There is one item that is still pending at the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT). Somebody from the Rowing and Canoe Federation took four other federations to court to have them barred from participating in the General Assembly.

“We are trying to sort the issue out though it will take us a few days. We shall be approaching the tribunal by Monday to have the order vacated,” the official stated.

Paul was confident that despite choosing their own path they should be able to beat the election deadline set by IOC.

“We do not want to stick in office for long since we have the Commonwealth Games starting in April. In this regard, we want to give the Ministry of Sports Art and Culture time to appoint a steering committee.

“The federations also need to make their own preparations and that is why we want to solve this election as soon as possible as soon as we are given the green light,” Paul assured.

On August 3rd, High Court Judge Enock Chacha Mwita lifted the order that had barred the Nock elections.

“Now that the legal obstacle that was preventing NOC elections from taking place has been lifted…appropriate actions are expected for this process to resume and conclude smoothly, in good faith and without any further delay/unnecessary complications,” the IOC wrote in their letter.