“I was beaten in 2011 because I did not know well the tricks of winning an election. I didn’t vie in 2016 and 2020 because there were no elections but endorsements,” football administrator Hussein Mohammed told football stakeholders while launching his campaign manifesto at a packed Kenya National Theatre Auditorium in Nairobi on August 28 this year.
“This time round I’m ready and I am in the game to win. I have learnt the tactics and the tricks, and will win this election,” he said while launching his bid for the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) presidency.
On Saturday, 47-year-old Hussein was elected FKF president after bagging 67 votes in the second round of voting. Outgoing FKF vice president, Doris Petra, and former secretary general Barry Otieno got one vote each in the second round of voting. Both had conceded that they had been beaten in the first round.
The run-off was a necessity because the winning candidate in the election had to meet the 50 per cent threshold according to the FKF Constitution.
In the first round, Hussein got 43 votes while Petra, running on the same ticket with Nick Mwendwa bagged 31 votes.
Otieno finished third with 10 votes while Kakamega Homeboyz chairman Cleophas Shimanyula garnered four votes. Former footballer and Gor Mahia legend Sammy Owino ‘Kempes got two votes.
Football administrator Tom Alila got one vote while Chris Amimo and Gor Mahia Secretary General Sam Ochola got no vote.
In 2011, Hussein was 34 and, despite mounting a spirited campaign, he was beaten at the ballot by then FKF President Sam Nyamweya. This year, he gave it a second try which saw him emerge victorious.
However, the road to FKF presidency hasn’t been smooth for Hussein. He has endured intimidation, heckling and sometimes outright harassment from a federation led by Mwendwa and Otieno.
On January 4 this year, Hussein was roughed up and was nearly thrown out of Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay County while attending a local football tournament.
At the time, Hussein was attending the finals of grassroots football tournament Genowa Football Cup sponsored by Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga.
The incident was blamed on FKF’s leadership. The bad blood between Hussein and the federation also played out after FKF referees were instructed not to officiate the game until he left the venue.
Former Homa Bay County FKF Chairman Maurice Obweno, a staunch ally Mwendwa, even tried to physically throw Hussein out of the venue.
It took Governor Wanga’s intervention for the Extreme Sport CEO to continue staying at the venue. The finals went on only after calls were made to the top leadership of the federation.
“I have, repeatedly been subjected to discrimination, and intimidation from participating in football-related activities orchestrated by certain members within FKF. The said actions have been malicious and recently my civil and fundamental constitutional rights have been violated in broad daylight,” he said then.
“The host county officials and the governor were baffled by the reaction of the FKF officials as their protestations had no merit nor logic. The intervention of the governor, her team and local law enforcement authorities ensured that my constitutional rights were protected and I’m truly grateful to them for standing their ground against tyranny and impunity,” he added.
The rivalry between Hussein’s camp and the FKF came to the surface again days before FKF’s Special General Meeting which was slated for March 17 but aborted due to a court case.
In a terse letter to the club, Otieno said Hussein was not a member of the federation and couldn’t represent Murangá Seal club since he had not been in football leadership for at least two years as required by FKF Constitution.
The battle lines were drawn as Murangá Seal Chairman Robert Macharia, who is now FKF Central Region National Executive Committee Member, said the club was within its right to choose it representative for the SGM.
Universal values of football
“The position taken by the FKF CEO blatantly violates the FKF Constitution, the rights of Murang’a Seal, and the universal values of football,
“In plain English, there is no regulation anywhere on earth that empowers the FKF CEO to decide for Murang’a Seal who shall represent them at the FKF SGM,” said an angry Macharia.
In a twist of events five months later, FKF changed its mind and Hussein was allowed to attend FKF’s SGM on August 24.
Hussein’s struggles didn’t end there. Immediately the list of candidates for FKF Branch elections was published, FKF Electoral Board omitted names of his close confidants from Trans Nzoia and Mombasa.
His camp sought the intervention of the Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT), which gave injunction allowing Isaac Munene to vie in Trans Nzoia County, and Alamin Abdalla, the Congo Boys chairman, to vie for the chairmanship in Mombasa County.
Both Munene and Abdalla won against candidates affiliated to Mwendwa’s camp. It was an indication that Hussein had delegates on his side as his accomplices won in the branch elections held on November 14.
When FKF presidential candidates presented their nomination papers to the electoral board on October 14, word went round that Hussein would be locked out of the race.
FKF Electoral Board Chairman Dr Hesbon Owila cleared all the nine candidates, including Hussein, saying his work was to verify the validity of the documents, and not the legal threshold.
Speaking to Nation Sport on Saturday, an elated Hussein said the harassment made him stronger and didn’t kill his spirit at a time some had ruled him out of the race, claiming he would be disqualified.
“The incident in Homa Bay was embarrassing and the others which occurred but the secret was not giving up. I had learnt to master the game from my experience in 2011, and I did my campaigns with a lot of honesty and determination,” he said.
“Politics of football isn’t easy but now that I have the job and wish to thank all those who voted for me. We must work together, clean the mess at Kandanda House and implement our manifesto, we must deliver,” he added.
