Former Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Sam Nyamweya.
At the tail end of his presidency, Daniel arap Moi faced an open rebellion not only from his fellow politicians from the opposition but from Kenyans from all walks of life.
The "Moi Must Go" chant became a kind of a national obsession as the citizenry told the long-serving head of state that he should be taken out to pasture.
In a painful rejoinder, a disgusted Moi once told Kenyans that even though they were all chorusing his impending visit, a time would come when they would rue his departure and actually wish that he comes back.
No way, Kenyans roared back at Moi. So much so that when he went to Uhuru Park to hand over power to his successor, angry embers of the public pelted Moi’s motorcade with mud as they sang the corrupted gospel song "Yote Yawezekana Bila Moi" -- All is possible without Moi.
For the longest time, former football administrator Sam Nyamweya told anybody who cared to listen how close he was with Moi.
A former treasurer of the Youth for Kanu ’92, a fit-for-purpose vehicle that was manufactured specifically to help Moi retain his seat in the face of a formidable opposition juggernaut, Nyamweya could well be described as Moi’s political son.
The Bible talks of generational curses where some ills are visited upon people and their sons and daughters down the line.
Following this biblical principle, then it is safe to state that the punishment Kenyans gave Moi in wishing him away would soon befall his political son Nyamweya.
In the last days of his helmsmanship of FKF, Nyamweya faced an irate band of football fans who blamed him for all manner of ills affecting the game, right to the days before he was born.
Eight years down the line, a lot has happened and Nyamweya believes it is time he came back to football leadership.
Like his biblical namesake Samson but without the long mane of hair, Nyamweya believes he has powers to right the many wrongs he says the current administration of Nick Mwendwa has visited on football lovers in Kenya.
The new Nyamweya is even prophetic, he has gone to the future, seen what is happening there and is warning Kenyans of dire consequences a few years from now if they do not elect him as FKF President.
“I had semi-retired from football administration but I just can’t sit aside and watch as our game is going down the drain. Our children will ask me in the future what I did to save the situation and that is why I am offering my candidacy."
According to the former administrator - his close friends call him President Emeritus - although many cried "Nyamweya Must Go" at the end of his term in 2015, the cries for him to come back and lead FKF are even louder.
From supermarkets to social places and by the roadside, the Kenyans seeing Nyamweya’s leadership skills keep on growing by the day, according to him.
But what are the man’s achievements when he was at Kandanda House that he should be given another chance?
Without skipping a beat, Nyamweya says that the good working relationship he had with the Kenyan Premier League boss Ambrose Rachier earned accolades as far away and as high as Fifa headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
“This is what I will build on. The KPL must be left to run on its own because we have seen what meddling by Mwendwa and his administration has done to the championship. I am proposing a system where the various leagues run on their own then FKF plays a supervisory/advisory role in the whole matter,” he says.
Tied to this is the issue of monies from Fifa. Nyamweya is categorical that the federation has received more than Sh2 billion from Fifa but there is nothing to show for it. He fears that the monies might have disappeared into individual’s pockets.
Nyamweya believes he can use this money for the betterment of the game. Top in his priority list is changing the fortunes of the national team Harambee Stars which he says has a realistic chance of playing in the World Cup under his watch.
Another platform he is banking on is dealing squarely with the curse of match fixing which he says is rampant.
“I am convinced there are some crooked FKF officials, referees, players, club management and betting companies employees who are working in cahoots to fix matches. It is unfair to the upright stakeholders.
Nyamweya says he will lobby members of parliament to bring an act that would criminalise match-fixing.
Those caught in the vice would face long jail terms and heavy fines, he says.
He says the success of Afcon that will be jointly hosted by Kenya will depend largely on Kenya’s performance at the event.
“It would be catastrophic if Kenya was to be bundled out in the early stages because that would mean less people going to the stadium. We saw how a powerful fan base catapulted Cote d'Ivoire to the finals and finally winning this year’s event in their country,” he says.
Finally, to make all these things possible, Nyamweya believes credible polls are a must and that as constituted, FKF might not deliver on this aspect. He therefore wants the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) be given the mandate of organising the polls.
“Let the FKF elections board focus on scrutinising the delegates’ list so we only have bona fide delegates voting. After that they hand over the whole process to IEBC which I believe can give us free and fair elections,” he says.
