G. WanderaSDT cancels Kenya Sports Council elections
Reading Time: 2min | Fri. 18.08.23. | 15:47
The Kenya National Sports Council elections have been cancelled over term limit violations
The Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT) has cancelled elections for the Kenya National Sports Council over irregularities.
In a ruling that is bound to send shockwaves in sports federations facing elections in the next few months, the tribunal said three officials who were elected during the exercise held in December last year were not eligible to vie as they had already served their two term limits as per the sports act.
The ruling was delivered on Tuesday afternoon by a panel headed by Njeri Onyango.
The case was filed by Mary Muiruki who had contested for the top post against eventual winner Nderitu Gikaria.
After the elections held in December last year, Muiruki filed a case at the tribunal challenging the exercise and asking for its dissolution.
She argued that Nderitu Gikaria who was elected chairman Vanraj Sarvaiya (Vice Chairman) and Charles Nyaberi (Treasurer) were not eligible to contest as they had already served the mandatory two terms provided for in the Sports Act.
Muiruki’s other argument was that the whole process had been unfair on her as she and other contestants had faced several hurdles.
Her claims were supported by Duncun Kiprop who testified in the case by pointing out that he is a sports official who was interested in contesting in the elections but was frustrated.
“Kiprop testified that he did not have enough time to present his nomination papers as there was insufficient time to do so and the council offices were only opened on the last day of presenting the papers,” says part of the ruling.
But in their defence, the council argued that its top officials were eligible to contest as they had been elected for their first term in 2018 though they had been in office since 2010.
“The court disagreed with this arguments pointing out that if the first election was conducted on 18th February 2018, and a term is supposed to be four years, conducting the second election in 15th December 2022 is already an indictment on the officials since the elections were held two months’ shy from reaching a five-year term aptly capturing their continuous attempt to extend and violate the term limits set,” said Njeri.
She continued: "To serve for an excessively long period that transcends the conventional legally stipulated terms and still fail to conduct elections in a scrupulously fair manner is against the principles of fair administrative action."
The council has been ordered to conduct fresh elections within 60 days and has barred its top three officials from contesting for the same positions.
