Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Vice-President MacDonald Mariga was kicked out of his top position by members of the FKF National Executive Committee (NEC) following a 65-1 vote at the FKF Special General Meeting (SGM) in Meru.
Apart from Mariga, others expelled are Robert Macharia (Central Kenya), Gabriel Mugendi (Coast), Caleb Collins (Nyanza), Bernard Lagat (Lower Rift), Violet Kirubo (Women rep), Dan Shikanda NEC Nairobi.
Members present voted out the aforementioned with 65 votes out of 66 votes cast. Further disciplinary actions are expected to be taken upon the named individuals. Only AFC Leopards chairman Boniface Ambani voted against expelling Mariga, who in 2010, became the first Kenyan footballer to play in and win the UEFA Champions League for Inter Milan.
The seven faced several allegations, including an alleged attempt to unlawfully remove FKF President Hussein Mohammed and Acting Secretary General Dennis Gicheru from office.
However, despite FKF’s decision, Mariga and his six
Nine issues making the process of removing the 7 NEC irregular:
– The President chaired a case in which he was the injured party. The main charge was the April 24 resolution that tried to remove him. That is a textbook breach of the rule that no one should judge their own cause.
– It gets worse. The delegates’ caucus had also summoned him to show cause why he should not be dismissed over six allegations, and called for every NEC member, including Mohammed, to be scrutinised at the meeting.
– The communiqué says nothing about his own charges. A forum that dealt with charges against one faction, chaired by the accused leader of the other, cannot look impartial.
– The General Assembly acted as a disciplinary court. The communiqué lists charges, makes findings and imposes a punitive sanction. Under the Constitution, discipline belongs to independent judicial bodies (Articles 64–67), with appeal to the Appeals Committee and then CAS or a recognised national arbitration tribunal.
– There was already a disciplinary process under way: Mariga had challenged proceedings by the FKF Disciplinary Committee before the Sports Disputes Tribunal. Bypassing that process for a political vote in the Assembly is forum-shopping, and it exposes the seven to two sets of proceedings over the same conduct
Next move is for Mariga and the seven to move to the SDT and stop the adoption of those resolutions by the sports registrar. They have a justifiable case.”
According to the standard regulatory framework aligned with CAF and FIFA statutes, if Article 41.5—which mandates that a *motion for dismissal must be decided via a secret ballot requiring a two-thirds majority of valid votes—* is not followed, the primary implication is the nullity and procedural invalidity of the entire dismissal process.
In sports governance, violating the specified voting mechanism and threshold leads to direct consequences:
*1. Null and Void Decision*
CAF and FIFA strictly enforce adherence to a member association’s own constitution and statutory rules. Failing to vote via secret ballot or failing to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority means the resulting resolution is legally non-existent. The targeted individual remains in their position, and any provisional replacement is considered unlawful.
*2. Failure to Follow Due Process*
Under international football governance standards, a secret ballot protects voting delegates from external coercion, intimidation, or political pressure. Violating this clause constitutes a severe breach of due process, rendering the federation vulnerable to a successful legal challenge by the aggrieved party at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) or relevant national sports tribunals.
*3. Potential Risk of FIFA/CAF Intervention*
If an association improperly dismisses a key official (such as a President or Executive Committee member) by circumventing constitutional voting protocols, FIFA may view it as an internal governance crisis or third-party interference. This can trigger punitive measures from FIFA, including:
• Refusal to recognise the newly installed leadership.
• Mandatory appointment of a *Normalisation Committee* to clean up the federation’s governance.
• In extreme cases of persistent non-compliance, international suspension of the member association.
