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Tribunal clears path for NOCK June 19 polls 

Tribunal clears path for NOCK June 19 polls 
L-R: Charles Nyaberi, Lilian Mududa and Humphrey Kayange at NOC-K’s delegates meeting. PHOTO/David Ndolo

Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) President Charles Nyaberi has convened a meeting today to sort out the issue of the person to represent the body in this week’s National Olympic Committee elections set for Thursday, June 19, 202,5 in Nairobi. 

This comes on the backdrop of last week’s Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) ruling, which called on the association to follow its constitution in its internal dispute resolutions.

NOC-K’s electoral process, originally set to be held on April 24, 2025, and now rescheduled for June 19, 2025, remains caught in an institutional imbroglio caused by ongoing squabbles within federations such as the volleyball one, which has been unable to agree on appointing one of its members as a delegate for the vote.

“The Notice of Motion dated 29/4/2025 be and is hereby dismissed. The amended statement of claim dated 05/05/2025 be and is hereby dismissed. The parties herein are to fully explore and conclusively exhaust all Internal Dispute Resolution mechanisms,” read a section of the SDT ruling.

What electoral regulations, approved last March and ratified by NOC-K’s Extraordinary General Assembly, stipulate is that the appointment of delegates must be signed by the president and the secretary general of the corresponding federation.

This is also stated in Article 17.4 of the committee’s constitution.

The conflict within the volleyball federation erupted when two of its leaders sent contradictory communications to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, as each of them named a different delegate to vote in the elections.

On one side, President Nyaberi, backed by Deputy Secretary General John Ogara, submitted a letter claiming that right for himself. On the other side, Secretary-General Ismail Chege sent another letter proposing Deputy Treasurer Moses Mbuthia as delegate.

The duplicity created an irregular situation, which led the electoral commission to rule that the federation does not meet the relevant requirements, and thus, for the moment, it is excluded from participating in the electoral congress until it resolves its internal dispute.

Faced with this scenario and the refusal to accept Nyaberi’s appointment, he filed legal actions against NOC-K, the electoral commission itself, Electoral Officer Muthee Gakuru, Mbuthia, Chege, and the Sports Registrar.

In his claim, he requested to be recognised as a delegate, arguing that his appointment complies with the spirit of the regulations, even if it lacks the secretary general’s signature.

In the course of the proceedings, the tribunal emphasised that the disagreement is internal in nature and must be resolved within the framework of the federation itself.

This is the second case the judicial body has settled in this way, following a similar decision against the President of the Kenya Taekwondo Federation, Suleiman Sumba, who also sought to represent his federation without a clear consensus with his secretary general.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) last month waded into the issue and said federation heads had the right to be the delegates and called for a swift resolution to the issues, to allow the polls to continue smoothly.

Following the decision of current President Paul Tergat not to run for a third term, the NOC-K vote is shaping up to be a process of major significance: 13 key positions are at stake, including those of president, first and second vice presidents, secretary general, deputy secretary, treasurer, deputy treasurer, three members of the executive committee, one female representative, and two athlete representatives.

After the elections were suspended on April 24, 2025, the new date was confirmed by the committee’s Secretary General, Francis Mutuku, in accordance with the constitution and the 2025 electoral regulations.

Mutuku explained that the decision to reschedule was made after the volleyball, taekwondo, handball, and triathlon federations failed to select their delegates.

Initially, as reported by Daily Nation, on April 24, 2025, a High Court judge granted provisional permission for these entities to participate in the elections, but five days later revoked that authorisation upon discovering that the claimants had not disclosed two prior rulings by the Sports Disputes Tribunal allowing the electoral process to continue provided certain conditions were met, such as respecting Noc-K’s regulations.

The omission of those precedents led the judge to invalidate his original decision, which forced the vote to be postponed.

Given the persistence of conflicts in several federations, the Sports Disputes Tribunal ruled that the NOC-K elections should proceed without further delay.

In its decision, it declined to intervene in unresolved internal disputes and authorised the electoral commission to move forward with the elections.

The order includes a specific clause stating that the commission must submit a compliance report within seven days following the elections.

The ruling states that the responsibility for resolving internal disputes lies exclusively with the federations involved and that the lack of consensus regarding their delegates cannot continue to stall the electoral calendar.

In that regard, it clarifies that organisations which have not completed the procedures required by the regulations could be excluded from the electoral congress.

Consequently, the volleyball federation has until June 19, 2025, to resolve its conflict if it wishes to take part in the vote.

“Sports Registrar and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Observers are to ensure strict adherence to the NOC-K Constitution and all procedures governing the elections,” the ruling emphasises.

The case will be revisited in court ten days after the elections to assess whether the conditions set out by the Sports Disputes Tribunal were fully met.

Amid this institutional crisis, the International Olympic Committee intervened to remind that the electoral process must be governed by the committee’s constitution, adopted in March 2017 and approved by the IOC in April of that year.

“The procedure relating to the conduct of the NOC-K Elective General Assembly and the election process is clearly established in the constitution and must be strictly followed,” warned the international body.

It also emphasised that “in principle, the president of each federation must be the voting delegate”, unless absent, in which case they may be replaced in accordance with the regulations.

The IOC, which considered the postponement “very regrettable” due to “last-minute internal disputes”, urged that any conflict be resolved within the General Assembly, “the highest decision-making body” according to Article 33 of the NOC-K constitution.

“We trust that all Noc-K members and all stakeholders will act responsibly and in good faith, in accordance with the constitution and the Olympic Charter,” added the IOC, according to The Star.

The two main contenders to succeed Tergat are Francis Mutuku and Shadrack Maluki, the current secretary general and first vice president, respectively.

Mutuku has promised a management style based on transparency and athlete-centred policies, while Maluki presents himself as the leader of a reformist bloc determined to break with the past.

At the same time, other candidacies reflect the dynamism of the process: Barnaba Korir and Anthony Ombok are vying for the first vice presidency, and Andrew Mudibo and John Ogola for the secretary generalship.

A few days before the elections, federations remain under pressure to resolve their crises and participate in a process that will determine the course of Kenyan Olympism over the next four years.

Meanwhile, the sporting community and international observers will be closely watching the outcome of an election that has already proven to be as complex as it is significant.

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