Hundreds of football fans and candidates for the forthcoming Football Kenya polls held a mass demonstration in Nairobi yesterday to protest against alleged inclusion of fake clubs into the voter register released by the Independent Electoral Board last week.
The demonstrators also demanded to be told about the final date of elections and preparations for the electoral process, as it emerged that elections might not take place on August 13 as earlier announced.
They wanted the IEB to publish a properly scrutinised list of clubs to ensure only genuine clubs participate in the elections. They accused Football Kenya Limited (FKL) of registering clubs that are not in existence for purposes of rigging the polls.
The petition presented to the Ministry of Youth and Sports read in part, “the suspension and anxiety caused by delays denies the youth a piece of both their livelihoods and freedoms in this new dispensation. The electoral process should therefore be defined and a realistic final fixed date should be released without delay.”
Addressing the demonstrators, Sports Commissioner Gordon Oluoch said that adequate consultations between the ministry and IEB will be made before the final election date is announced. The commissioner maintained that football elections is a FIFA-driven process but the government will step in to offer any assistance whenever need arises.
“The minister will first have to look at your petition and we are ready to engage the IEB and the candidates to find out the challenges experienced, but the position of the ministry is that elections should be held as planned,” said Mr. Oluoch.
The demonstration begun at 10am at Uhuru Park, through Harambee Avenue to Ministry of Youth and Sports offices at Kencom House, where they presented their petition letter.
Among the aspirants for various posts who took part in the demonstration included Hussein Mohammed Twaha Mbarak, Sammy Sholei and Ricky Solomon.
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