‘I’ll not be distracted’ – Sports CS says after Tribunal judge ruled he worked out of his mandate to reinstate FKF NEC

Sports Cabinet Secretary (CS) Ababu Namwamba has reiterated his ambition to restore normalcy in Kenyan football after a one year period of turbulence under FIFA suspension.

The CS yesterday told People Sport that he will not be distracted by the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) ruling on Tuesday which claimed that he went out of his mandate to reinstate the initially disbanded Football Kenya Federation (FKF) National Executive Committee (NEC), an action which led to the lifting of the sanctions by the world football governing body.

The tribunal chairman John Ohaga who ruled that the federation’s NEC was in office illegally and it had no backing in the laws of the land after its disbandment by former CS Amina Mohamed in November last year., was listening to a case filed by APS Bomet who demand to be promoted to top flier football by virtue of winning the second tire National Super League.

The local football chiefs who were reinstated last month rendered the league null and void since it was not recognised by Fifa as it was being run by the Caretaker Committee appointed by the former minister and never had the blessing of the global body.

“I am not getting into that, I am busy getting football and sports in general back on track, I will not be distracted by anyone,” Namwamba told People Daily Sports.

The pronouncement by the Sports Tribunal is likely to put the Kenyan football into another quagmire when hopes of full restoration of the local game were gathering steam.

It is not clear whether the government will go against Ohaga’s verdict which is against the reinstatement of previously ousted FKF officials by the same government.

The government’s action was in response to FIFA’s demands in order for Kenya to resume international engagement after the country’s suspension last February due to government interference.

FIFA has since lifted the suspension after a truce with the government and was due to send a delegation to Kenya for further deliberations and the way forward.

There has been a moment of panic amongst some football stakeholders in the country after the judgement, though with some different views on the matter.

More so, there has been talks to stop all the leagues that had been kicked off including the FKF Premier League that is set to enter match day four this weekend.

A section of football stakeholders blamed Ohaga of over stepping his mandate as he was just meant to rule over leagues promotions and relegations after APS filed a case and should not have strayed into the minister’s decision to reinstate FKF NEC.

Former football boss Sam Nyamweya and a former federation vice president Twaha Mbaraka, however, supported the ruling and called for the reinstatement of a Normalisation Committee.