Differences within Cricket Kenya (CK) board over a proposed high-profile competition deepened after some members announced the termination of a Sh255 million deal the federation signed with Dubai-based sports promotion company AOS Sport Tournament.
The CK and AOS Sport Tournament signed the five-year renewable contract in April. The said cancellation of the deal has worsened controversy within the CK board that has been rocked by infighting between officials.
The deal granted the firm the licence to organise the tournament, dubbed “Cricket Kenya T20 League”, which was expected to feature selected players from Test playing countries.
However, divisions have in recent weeks emerged within the board over the competition, prompting the Ministry of Sports to intervene.
While the embattled federation board Chairman Manoj Patel and the federation’s counties’ representative Kennedy Obuya are pushing to have Kenya stage the tournament, the rest of the members, led by CK’s chief executive officer Ronald Bukusi have opposed the plan.
Scheduled to start on November 7, Manoj and Obuya argue that the tournament will boost the development, and growth of the sport in the country. However, the Bukusi-led faction insists that the tournament cannot continue since the International Cricket Council (ICC) is yet to approve it as required by the law. There have also been questions about the character of those behind the tournament.
On Thursday, the Bukusi-led faction announced it had, through “a majority resolution”, terminated the federation’s contract with AOS, citing multiple irregularities including governance breaches and bribery attempts.
This came barely a day after Manoj and Obuya, together with some 32 county officials calling themselves the ‘CK Supreme Council’, approval of the tournament. They also recommended removal of Bukusi from office over alleged gross misconduct.
“On September 10, 2025, the board by majority resolution terminated its agreement with AOS citing severe reputational damage and grave breaches of governance, including attempts to improperly influence board members through financial inducements and external pressure,” he told a press briefing.
Bukusi, who was flanked by three board members – Thomas Odoyo (CK Development Director) Tariq Iqbal and Pauline Njeru – said they had communicated their decision (to cancel the contract) to both the Ministry of Sports and the ICC. Other members who signed the statement but missed the press conference were CK Director of Women’s Cricket Pearlyne Omamo, Mary Maina and Beryl Oyugi.
Bukusi said CK will not reimburse the $25,000 (Sh3.2 million) down payment that AOS had already made, citing contractual agreement.
Director of Sports, Ministry of Sports, Jackson Indakwa, said he had met the warring factions, including AOS representatives in an attempt to resolve the dispute. That same day, Obuya told Nation Sport that since ICC was yet to approve the tournament, AOS has agreed to downgrade it by restricting the invitation to players from associate members only but under the same contractual agreement signed in April.
The former Kenya international explained that the new version does not require ICC’s approval but just the endorsement of the CK board.
He added that the AOS was keen to see the 21-day tournament start on November 7 since viewership would decline afterwards as other similar competitions will be underway across the globe.
However, Bukusi said on Thursday that AOS had yet to submit a fresh proposal for the revised tournament to the board for consideration, warning going ahead with the tournament without ICC approval was likely to attract sanctions.
“Subsequently, AOS unilaterally proposed a separate domestic league outside the scope of the original agreement. Despite multiple attempts by Cricket Kenya board to get AOS to submit a fresh proposal for consideration and board sanctioning as per ICC requirements, they proceeded with a launch event against board advice. This event, attended by one director (Obuya) and the statements made thereafter misrepresented our position and damaged the reputation of Cricket Kenya,” said the CEO.
“The proposed tournament does not meet the ICC’s criteria for a sanctioned domestic event and without a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the member body constitutes disapproved cricket. Participation will expose players, sponsors and Cricket Kenya to sanctions from ICC.”
Bukusi said a new sponsor, who aligns with CK's governance principles, had come on board and will be unveiled soon.
But just a few hours after the Bukusi-led faction briefed the press, Obuya released a statement saying Bukusi had been sent on compulsory leave and thus could not transact any business on behalf of the federation. In addition to validating the CK T20 League on Wednesday, the “Supreme Council” had also recommended the removal of Bukusi from office.
Later that evening, Manoj sent letters to Bukusi and Odoyo, informing them that they had been sent on compulsory leave, pending investigations into the matter. However, the duo said there is no entity known as a ‘Supreme Council’ and vowed to stay put.
“Our council of membership convenes annually and does not possess administrative, operational, or financial authority. These powers rest solely with the Cricket Kenya board, as clearly outlined in Article 8 of our constitution,” said Bukusi.
The CK board has long been at loggerheads with the members unanimously passing a vote of no confidence in Manoj on June 17 over corruption allegations and other irregularities.
