Daggers drawn as divided Kandanda House heads to Meru for SGM

FKF president Hussein Mohammed (centre), deputy president McDonald Mariga and NEC member Abdullah Yusuf (left) in a function last year. [FKF Media]

A showdown is looming ahead of Football Kenya Federation’s (FKF) Special General Meeting (SGM) slated for November 7 at the Three Steers Hotel in Meru.

The meeting has been convened by delegates not only to resolve the endless leadership and governance wrangles within the federation involving president Hussein Mohammed and his deputy McDonald Mariga but also deliberate on the conduct of the entire National Executive Committee (NEC).

The ongoing wrangles can affect Kenya’s preparations to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) alongside Uganda and Tanzania.

The SGM comes against the backdrop of a letter issued by world football governing body Fifa, on October 5, 2026 concerning the state of Kenyan football and the increasing number of football-related disputes being referred to ordinary courts. The Zurich-based body warned the federation and its members against taking football-related disputes to ordinary courts unless Fifa regulations, the FKF Constitution or binding legal provisions specifically allow it.

The prolonged court battles did not only delay SportPesa Premier League kick off but it has also affected the start of the National Super League season which was supposed to begin on October 25.

But following a massive fallout due to various allegations ranging from financial misappropriations to poor leadership that has affected the federation’s operations since last year, Hussein, who has been running a divided Kandanda House, claimed in September that he has convened four meetings with the former Kenyan international-led faction giving them a wide berth.

Mariga’s faction which includes Gabriel Mgendi (Coast), Dan Shikanda (Nairobi), Collins Kalee (Nyanza), Robert Macharia (Central), Bernard Lagat (Upper Rift Valley) and Violet Kerubo (Women Rep) even attempted an ouster of Hussein 0n April 24 over a Sh42 million Chan insurance scandal. 

But on his side, Hussein is enjoying the support of Charles Njoka (Eastern), Ahmedqadar Mohammed Dabar (North Eastern), Caleb Amwayi (Western), Peter Kamau (Lower Rift Valley), together with the co-opted duo of Abdullah Yusuf and Ken Rungu. Amwayi and Kamau were initially in the Mariga’s camp before they crossed over. While both factions have numerously denied allegations levelled against them, interventions from Fifa and CAF to unite the warring camps have borne no fruit.

Even as the 92 FKF delegates prepare to travel to Meru for the eagerly anticipated meeting on Saturday after summoning of the NEC members, the rift appears to deepen with two factions already claiming to be in charge of the SGM.

According to Elgeyo Marakwet County chairman Boaz Kaino, who coordinated the process initiated by members of the FKF General Assembly alongside FKF Kiambu County chairman Dan Nganga, a formal request was submitted to FKF’s NEC on May 18, 2026.

The formal convocation, dated October 22, 2026, then invoked Article 31(2) of the FKF Constitution 2017. But having failed to convene the requested meeting within the required 60-day notice period provided for under the Constitution, the Vincent Nyasani (FKF Nyamira County chairman) and Isaac Munene Kuria (FKF Trans Nzoia County chairman)-led faction seems to have capitalised on the technicality to equally call for the meeting.

“As far as I’m concerned, there’s only one faction and I’m the one who called for the SGM. The other people were not for this process. I approached 82 delegates and only 66 of them agreed to append their signatures after reading the agenda. Having met the threshold, I submitted the list of members to the General Secretary on May 22 who then took it to NEC. But unfortunately, NEC failed to call for a meeting and since it’s a members’ driven exercise, we’ve continued with the process,” Boaz Kaino told Standard Sports.

“It’s really unfortunate that we found ourselves into this situation. From my understanding, this is a self-inflicted problem that we should have avoided only if NEC members did their job. Their disagreement has really affected our game; just look at what’s happening in our leagues. We hope all delegates will come Meru and helps us find a lasting solution to our football.”

He continued: “We will stick to the agenda of the meeting which includes discussing the resolutions made by nine NEC members on April 24, 2026 and their implications on the FKF's activities as well as discuss the conduct of NEC members.”

And for Trans Nzoia County branch chairman Isaac Munene Kuria, who was nominated the chairmen’s secretary during the football symposium involving branch chairmen and congress members on October 24, all summoned NEC members will be given a fair hearing.

“It’s a well-choreographed SGM for members to discuss their issues. The political environment right now, majority of us are look at as the current president (Hussein Mohammed) and his deputy (McDonald Mariga). But it’s not about that. We’ve a lot at stake, football needs to continue. Unfortunately, what has brought this despite the issue of ego, it’s more of how do we put the processes within the secretariate and the football space because that’s one of the issues they are facing,” Kuria said while appearing on KTN on Friday.

“We’ll guide the process without taking sides. We are balancing, and we respect all parties. Everybody has a right to be heard, and that’s why if you look at the summons, everybody will be given the opportunity to present their case. Initially, when you look at the SGM, it’s to summon the nine NEC members, but the general members said the agenda is to discuss all the NEC members. So, everyone has a case to answer because they are equally and collectively responsible for running the football show. They’ve refused to do that, and they will now have to meet the delegates who voted them into office to answer that. We understand, Fifa has given the greenlight, both Fifa and CAF will be coming, and we’ve invited other stakeholders so that we can have this process to be equally fair where no party will feel aggravated. We want to stop this issue of going to court.”