Nyamweya: We must avoid any attempt to violate the law in quest for elections

In the past few days, football stakeholders have been urged to sign various petitions in solidarity with the authors of the petitions but starkly different as they agitate for what seemed to be conflicting positions.



One of the petitions sought to have the government disband the Football Kenya Federation and seek registration of a new federation, while another petition seeks to have dialogue through the application of Article 59 of the Sports Act 2013 in compliance to the FIFA proposal for stakeholder dialogue.



But former FKF boss Sam Nyamweya is now cautioning the country against pushing for any proposal that would rub FIFA the wrong way, saying it is imperative that everything happens within the confines of the laws of Kenya and the FIFA Statutes.



Here is his full statement containment in a press release Monday afternoon:



My attention has been drawn to multiple petitions purportedly by football stakeholders agitating for different course of action in the quest to achieve electoral and wholesome justice in respect of the holding of Football Kenya Federation elections that are long overdue.



While this is a good move because petitions are a legitimate route to agitate for issues and get the attention of public authorities, it is imperative that the craft of the final document is done with utmost keenness so as to avoid projecting issues in a manner that offends the same laws that petitioners want to have adhered to.



Accordingly, I wish to caution that some of the issues contained in the petitions are an affront to the course of justice as it is likely to put stakeholders on a collision path with world football-governing body – FIFA – and the government of Kenya. Specifically, I point out that stakeholders must avoid petitions agitating for the following:-



Advocacy for disbandment of the Football Kenya Federation or appointment of a caretaker committee in any other way apart from in the manner directed by the Sports Disputes Tribunal in its ruling of 17th March 2020.



For the avoidance of the doubt, Section 54 of the Sports Act 2013 cannot be invoked without there being an inspection and as such the Cabinet Secretary for Sports lacks the locus to act in that respect and therefore the only best route for the current stalemate to be unlocked is through the route taken by the SDT (invoking Section 59 of the Sports Act 2013) in compliance to FIFA’s proposal for dialogue.



We must be careful and resist the temptation to imagine that, at this point in time, registering a parallel federation is a viable option. I will never support any such move and I caution all well-meaning stakeholders to avoid that route.



Further, I advise that the only petition that would earn legitimate support and the attention of the authorities, namely FIFA and the Government of Kenya must be fashioned to bring out the following:-



That Stakeholders are committed to the total adherence to the Kenyan Constitution and FIFA Statutes in a manner that promotes the values enshrined in the law.



In this regard, the petition seeking a collaboration between FIFA and the Government of Kenya to facilitate dialogue between the stakeholders with a view to holding free, fair and credible elections at the earliest opportunity is the most ideal one which will earn it’s commendation to the authorities.



Let us be reminded that the SDT ruling of 17th March 2020 has cleared the way regarding very many of the issues and we must now be focused on getting to the end instead of going back to agitate the same issues whose contention is no longer an issue.



Every action and step we take must be in compliance with the decision of the SDT and all other written law.