‘We will pay the Ksh500,000 fine,’ Mwendwa asserts

A day after the Sports Disputes Tribunal ordered the Football Kenya Federation to pay a fine of Ksh500,000 for failing to comply with the Sports Act of 2013, president Nick Mwendwa has said they will comply with the directive despite having ‘no money’.

“We will pay  that’s it, we have complied already we have shown the intent and goodwill to proceed on the right path. We have been fined, okay we shall pay. I  don’t think I  can decide on what the Tribunal is supposed to do.

“It’s a thing I had said that I would like to do (comply with the Sports Act) if they don’t impose a fine on us but now that they have, we  shall proceed and pay and put that behind us since we want to move forward,” Mwendwa charged.

 FKF resolved on February 10 during a Special General Meeting to align the federation to the Act by harmonizing its constitution with the law.

During his ruling on Tuesday, Tribunal Chairman, John Ohaga, an advocate in the High Court reaffirmed that FKF was not compliant but did not recommend a ban, giving it until April 19, four days after the deadline set to cough up the fine, to be in line with the law.

“We are not prepared to say that the federation as presently constituted, does not have the mandate because that mandate depends both on the Sports Act, CAF and FIFA,” Ohaga noted.

The verdict ended any claims of legitimacy of Mwendwa’s election lodged by presidential candidates, Gor Semelang’o who withdrew from the contest before the elections started and Ambrose Rachier, who came second in the polls won by a landslide by the former Kariobangi Sharks chairman.

 The FKF had been reluctant to comply with the new law claiming the body was duly registered under the Registrar of Societies act. The 2013 Sports Act in article 46(1) explicitly states that the Sports Registrar is “ responsible for the registration and regulation of sports organizations at the national level.”

 The tribunal’s ruling provided FKF with a soft landing and also conveniently prevented Kenya from attracting FIFA’s wrath if FKF had been ruled to be an illegal entity.

FIFA in Article17 (1)  of its rules implicitly warns national governments and institutions from interfering with the affairs of the member associations.