The future of Kenya’s troubled cricket now lies in the hands of 57 individuals cleared by the Independent Elections Panel (IEP) to vote in Cricket Kenya’s national elections on April 19 .
Drawn from 19 County Cricket Associations, the delegates will vote to elect new Cricket Kenya (CK) chairman, vice chairman, treasurer, Director County Associations, and Director Women’s Cricket.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM)-cum-national elections will take place at Ruaraka Sports Club in Nairobi from 11am. Those elected will serve for a four-year term, which is renewable for an additional term through the polls.
Focus is on the influential chairman position, which has attracted two candidates; cricket administrator and businessman Bhavesh Gohil, 51, and former Kenya international Tom Tikolo, 64.
Current CK chairman, Manoj Patel, has not sought re-election.
According to the CK Constitution 2021, only County Cricket Associations, which are duly recognised as full CK members are eligible to vote in the national elections.
At the national elections, each County Cricket Association is entitled to three votes, represented by chairperson, secretary and treasurer.
In the absence of any of these officials, duly appointed proxies from the respective county associations may be nominated to participate in the polls.
The 19 County Cricket Associations cleared by the IEP to take part in the polls are Bungoma, Busia, Embu, Homa Bay, Laikipia, Kajiado, Kakamega, Kiambu/Kagonya Cricket Club, Kilifi, Kirinyaga, Kisii, Kisumu, Lamu, Makueni, Muranga, Nakuru, Narok, Nyamira, and Vihiga.
CK Chief Executive Officer Ronald Bukusu told Nation Sport on Monday that the about 14 newly registered Cricket County Associations will not participate in the polls as they have yet to be CK full members.
Manoj Patel (right) receives his election certificate from chairman of Cricket Kenya's electoral panel Ken Mutuma on February 26, 2022 after he was elected chairman of the local cricket federation at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
IEP issued a five-day window, effective from the date of publication of the delegates list on Friday for submission of complaints.
Under the CK Constitution 2021, Cricket Players Welfare Association, Cricket Coaches Body and Umpires and Scorers Body are all eligible to participate in the national elections.
However, the three professional bodies will not take part in the forthcoming polls as they are neither registered with the Sports Registrar nor recognised as full members of CK.
According to the list of cleared candidates released by the IEP on April 1, lawyer Pearlyne Omamo, who currently serves as the Director Women’s Cricket is unopposed for the vice chairperson position.
Suspended treasurer Kalpesh Solanki was disqualified from vying for the vice chairperson position by the IEP on grounds that he is still under suspension. The treasure position has attracted former Kenya international and CK Players Selection Committee chairman Alfred Njuguna and Chidambaran Subramanian.
Those vying for the Director County Associations are Damian Omonywa and Vidya Chandrasekhar while candidates cleared for the Director Women’s Cricket role are Charity Wambui and Sarah Kemunto.
For most cricket stakeholders, the forthcoming elections presents a glorious opportunity to chart a new direction for the sport in the country after more than two decades of leadership wrangles.
From a high of reaching the semi-finals of the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup in the longer version of the game, Kenya’s cricket has witnessed a steady decline on the field due to persistent leadership wrangles and mismanagement of the federation’s funds.
Kenya boasts of five ICC World Cup appearances; four One Day International (ODI) - 1996, 1999, 2003, and 2011 and one T20 (2007).
However, they are no longer a powerhouse in the sport with Uganda overtaking them in the region.
Manoj, whose tenure officially comes to an end after the election, will leave with little to show for the four years he has been in office.
His tenure has been riddled with divisions, alleged corruption, persistent delays in player salaries, and poor preparations and performances by the national teams.
Last month, the world cricket governing body, the ICC announced that it was halting funding CK for a period of six months for being non-compliant with its membership criteria.
ICC further warned that if CK fails to address the areas of non-compliance, it risks being suspended or expelled from the international body. Kenya has been at loggerheads with ICC on many occasions over non-compliance of the membership criteria.
For instance in 2005, ICC halted funding CK (then Kenya Cricket Association) for seven months over allegations of misappropriation of funds. In 2018, ICC issued suspension notice to Kenya following glaring governance lapses within CK and non-compliance with ICC Membership Criteria.
