SDT rule in favour of Mududa in Malkia Strikers' TM debacle
Reading Time: 3min | Sat. 22.06.24. | 09:45
The Tribunal has directed NOC-K to facilitate the necessary arrangements to execute her mandate
Malkia Strikers' Team Manager debacle has taken a new turn with the Sports Disputes Tribunal ordering the reinstatement of Lilian Mududa Waweru to the position.
Mududa moved to court to block the appointment of Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) president Charles Nyaberi as TM to the Paris Olympics, claiming she had initially been appointed by the executive to hold the position.
In their submissions to the Tribunal, Mududa's camp claims that she emerged top in a four-way vote for the position held on 25 November 2023 by the KVF executive, finishing ahead of Nyaberi, John Oronje and Ismail Chege.
Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) Vice President Paul Bitok has stepped down from his role as the assistant coach of the Malkia Strikers ahead of the Paris Olympics.
— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) May 17, 2024
It remains to be seen whether President Charles Nyaberi, who is heading to Paris as the team manager, will also… pic.twitter.com/rC32TuxYCy
"The National Executive Committee therefore duly declared the Claimant (Mududa) as the appointed Team Manager for Malkia Strikers for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and the Claimant's appointment was confirmed in a letter dated 27th February 2024 by the 2nd Respondent (KVF) to the Interested Party (National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOC-K)," court documents read in part.
Mududa says she was involved in several preparation activities for the games including attending several events in her capacity as the Team Manager for Malkia Strikers.
An emergency executive meeting is said to have been convined via WhatsApp for 13 April 2024 at Riadha House. The meeting was rescheduled to 14 April 2024 wherein new voting took place for the appointment of a new Team Manager.
She claims to have questioned the meeting in a letter, without response from the KVF. Her replacement came to light when the federation released a provisional squad as preparations for the Games started.
After deliberating on the matter SDT ruled that Mududa was not granted a fair opportunity to defend her position as the Team Manager having been so appointed and selected.
"The Tribunal, however, cannot leave a vacuum in the position of Team Manager as the law abhors a vacuum. The decision made on 12 May 2024 (to replace Mududa with Nyaberi) cannot stand and rather than leave a vacuum, the Tribunal goes back to the decision taken earlier to select the Claimant (Mududa) as the Team Manager.
The orders of the Tribunal should be obeyed to the latter without having varied interpretations on whether change of the personnel with other personnel was a breach. The competitions before the Olympic Games are deemed to be preparations for the Olympics Games and the team should have the best possible preparation without interference. The change of the Team Manager without any justification is deemed as interference," the judgment of the SDT reads in part.
"The Claimant, having been duly appointed and selected as Team Manager shall remain the Team Manager to other pre-Olympic Games matches including the Volleyball Challenger Cup in Manila," it further reads, subsequently nullifying Nyaberi's appointment.
