Mariga fights back: ‘My ouster from FKF was illegal’

Former Kenyan international footballer McDonald Mariga has termed his ouster as the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) vice president alongside six other National Executive Committee (NEC) members as illegal.

The former Inter Milan player insisted that they remained members of the federation.

In a statement released on Sunday evening, Mariga argued that the FKF Special General Meeting (SGM) held in Meru on Saturday and which resolved to remove them from office, did not follow the right procedure.

He further claimed that their ouster was intended to silence them from continuing their fight against corruption within the federation.

The six NEC members who were expelled alongside Mariga are Kerubo Momanyi (Women Representative), Gabriel Mghendi (Coast), Dan Shikanda (Nairobi), Collins Opiyo Kalee (Nyanza), Robert Macharia (Central) and Bernard Lagat (Upper Rift Valley).

“What transpired in Meru was a deliberate attempt to silence elected leaders who have consistently championed accountability, transparency and good governance within FKF,” stated Mariga.

He noted that while Article 41 (4) and (5) of the FKF Constitution guarantees the right to be heard before being condemned or sanctioned, they were not accorded such an opportunity.

He also cited Fifa’s May intervention in the FKF leadership wrangles, which emphasised that the right to be heard must be respected irrespective of an official's position or the nature of the allegations.

“Fifa made it clear that this right is fundamental to the legitimacy of decisions taken by FKF's governing organs. The Meru proceedings disregarded that very guidance,” said Mariga.

He stated that, together with 32 duly accredited delegates, they were denied access to the SGM’s venue on Saturday.

“We are deeply concerned by the collusion involving sections of FKF leadership, and individuals engaged to frustrate their participation,” he lamented.

During the SGM, FKF president Hussein Mohammed said the dissenting members did not give their submissions despite being invited to do so.

They faced several allegations including: purporting to unlawfully remove from office the FKF president, the acting General Secretary Dennis Gicheru and nominated NEC member Abdullahi Yusuf, purporting to remove Hussein from office without allowing him to defend himself, failing to attend NEC meetings thus frustrating the execution of its mandate, purporting to communicate on behalf of the federation and taking football-related disputes to ordinary courts.

Mariga argued that the SGM erred in resolving to expel them through acclamation and not a secret ballot as stipulated by Article 41 (5) of the FKF Constitution.

Article 41 (5) of the FKF Constitution states: “The motion for dismissal shall be decided by means of secret ballot. For the motion to be passed, a majority of two-thirds of the valid votes is required.

“A resolution reached through acclamation cannot substitute for the secret ballot expressly required by the Constitution,” said Mariga.

“The legitimacy of the proceedings is further undermined by the exclusion of 32 legitimate Congress delegates and credible evidence of impersonation and unauthorized representation. Individuals who were not duly mandated representatives of legitimate FKF members participated as delegates. These irregularities raise serious questions about the authenticity of the attendance register, the legitimacy of the quorum and whether any constitutionally prescribed voting threshold was attained,” he added.

He called on Fifa, CAF and the Sports Registrar to urgently scrutinise the proceedings of the SGM held in Meru, including the delegates’ credentials, attendance, quorum and the voting process.

Sixty-five delegates from the 66 who attended the SGM voted to oust Mariga.

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