*Undated
FIFA is quiet as the Kenyan Government continues to purge perceived corrupt football executives, the latest arrest being of the Football Kenya Federation CEO Barry Otieno.
On Friday the federations president Nick Mwendwa was arrested by DCI operatives and taken in for questioning in regards to misuse and misappropriation of government funds to the federation. World football governing body FIFA issued a statement on Friday morning warning of dire consequences in case the government continued with interference in running football.
Details of a probe ordered by Sports Registrar Rose Wasike on October 14th cite several instances it claims the federation flouted the Sports Act 2013.
The FKF probe report by an Inspection Committee points at the federation’s non-compliance, which officials have allegedly exploited to run afoul of the regulator’s rules of engagement. The Sports Disputes Tribunal, in its decisions on the electoral process in 2019 and the following year, found that the FKF had failed to adhere to the requirements of the Fifa Standard Electoral Code.
The report also says that FKF failed to comply with Section 67 of the Sports Act, which requires entities registered under the Act to submit audited financial reports on an annual basis, is a source of concern.
FKF has been indicted several times for failure to account for exchequer resources in the manner it is supposed to be done, often leaving the FKF leadership in a public spat with the accounting officers at the Ministry of Sports. The federation has also been found to be expending public monies without following mandatory tendering requirements under the public procurement laws as well as the Fifa Forward Fund Regulations that require open tendering structures.
The report points at Article 227 (1) on procurement of public goods and services, which says: “When a State organ or any other public entity contracts for goods or services, it shall do so in accordance with a system that is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.”
FKF admitted to the inspectors that they have not been following Public Finance Management Act 2012 and Public Disposal and Procurement Act. This is in spite of continued training by the Sports Ministry on how to apply and account for money from the Sports Fund. Following the recent inspection, it has also been found that the FKF has not been adhering to sound governance practices when it comes to employees’ contracts.
The federation has been accused of flouting the provisions of Articles 10 and 73 on national values and integrity as well as Articles 226 and 227 on audit of public funds. FKF officials’ view has been that they are not subject to Kenyan laws when it comes to accounting for money advanced to it.