Former Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa has come forward to decry what he claims were rigged elections in the recently concluded poll.
Mwendwa, who led FKF for two terms, was seeking a third term to continue his reign, with his former deputy, Doris Petra, as his presidential candidate.
However, Mwendwa’s hopes of extending his tenure were dashed on Saturday, December 7, when Hussein Mohammed defeated Petra in the presidential race after she conceded in the first round.
Despite a rerun of the election,Hussein Mohammed elected new Football Kenya Federation President, emerged victorious by a substantial margin.
In the first round, Petra and Mwendwa received 31 votes, while Mohammed secured 42 votes. Barry finished third with 10 votes.
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While Mwendwa initially appeared to accept defeat in the aftermath, shaking hands with Mohammed at the Kasarani Indoor Arena, he has now come forward with serious allegations.
He asserts that the elections were manipulated, with voter rolls tampered with and delegates deliberately obstructed from attending the polls.
“I have no doubt in my mind that these elections were rigged. From the very beginning, the process was flawed,” Mwendwa told Sports.Boom.com.
“You had certain people getting access to voter rolls and using their influence to sway votes. Some delegates were deliberately blocked from attending the polls, while others were coerced into voting a particular way. This is not democracy—this is a farce.”
Mwendwa placed the blame squarely on the FKF electoral board, accusing it of mismanagement, lack of accountability, and a lack of oversight throughout the election process.
“The electoral body was supposed to be independent, but it was clear that there were undue influences from certain quarters.” He argued.
“How do you explain that certain candidates were allowed to campaign, while others were denied the same right? How do you explain the last-minute changes to the voter rolls?”
He also questioned the legitimacy of the process, pointing out that it was widely known who would win the presidency even before the election was held. He believes this undermined the fairness of the election and deprived Kenyan football of a legitimate choice.
“You cannot have an election where everyone knows the results before the voting even happens. This was never a fair contest. This was about controlling the outcome, not giving the football community a real choice.”
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Mwendwa reiterated his call for FIFA, the global governing body of football, to investigate the election and ensure that such an occurrence never happens again.
“FIFA cannot sit back and allow this to continue. They need to come and look at what has happened here. Football in Kenya deserves better, and the people deserve better.” He concluded.
