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Kenya institutes stringent rules to safeguard integrity of cricket
Cricket Kenya Chairman elect Bhavesh Gohil (in cap) and Vice Chairperson Pearlyne Omamo (left) being congratulated by International Cricket Council Regional Manager-Africa Justine Ligyalingi and Stephen Masale, Rwanda Cricket chairman, and ICC Director Development Africa after they where elected on April 19, 2026 at Ruaraka Sports Club.
Kenya has moved to safeguard the integrity of the sport by introducing stringent measures to govern hosting of tournaments as the country moves to comply with international standards on stamping out corruption in the sport, money laundering, and match-fixing.
On May 27, 2026, Cricket Kenya (CK) advised organisers of local tournaments, which involve national team players, or foreign players, foreign sponsors or organisers, and betting companies to seek clearance by applying for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) .
Those intending to organise of tournaments to be broadcast within Kenya or internationally are also required to seek clearance from the federation.
Cricket Kenya said tournaments will be given the greenlight subject to approval by the Cricket Kenya Board. Organisers seeking clearance to hold tournaments must disclose all the details of the proposed tournament, and apply for clearance through Cricket Kenya’s’ Chief Executive Officer at least 30 days before start of the tournament.
“Any cricket tournament held in breach of this requirement shall be deemed unsanctioned and may attract legal consequences,” Cricket Kenya’s chairman, Bhavesh Gohil, said in a statement on May 27.
“This directive is intended to ensure that all cricket tournaments conducted in Kenya comply with international standards on anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, and match-fixing safeguards,” he added.
Local cricket has been marred by allegations of match-fixing in the recent past.
In August 2025, there was a bitter fallout in CK’s board brought about by a proposed high-profile Twenty20 (T20) competition planned by Dubai-based sports promotion company AOS Tournament. Officials of the federation at the time signed a five-year renewable deal worth Sh255 million with AOS Sports Tournament in April 2025.
The deal granted the firm the license to organise the tournament dubbed ‘Cricket Kenya T20 League’, which was expected to feature select players from Test-playing nations.
However, Cricket Kenya’s board was divided over the requirement of a ‘No Objection Certificate’ for the tournament from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
While CK’s former chairman, Manoj Patel, and former CK counties’ representative Kennedy Obuya insisted on the tournament proceeding as planned, seven other members of the board, led by CEO Ronald Bukusi opposed the tournament on the grounds that the ICC had not approved it as required by law.
Nation Sport also learnt that another sticking issue in the hosting of the tournament was the questionable character of some of the people behind it. The tournament did not proceed as planned after Bukusi-led faction announced that it had terminated the federation’s contract with AOS “by majority resolution”, citing multiple irregularities, among them governance breaches and bribery attempts.
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