- Speaking on Citizen TV, Aduda questioned how the league can be run when key bodies responsible for resolving football disputes are either not fully constituted or their legitimacy is being challenged.
Former Football Kenya Federation Secretary General Lordvick
Aduda raised fresh concerns over the state of governance in Kenyan football,
warning that the FKF Premier League cannot operate effectively without properly
constituted judicial institutions to handle disciplinary and competition
disputes.
Speaking on Citizen TV, Aduda questioned how the league can
be run when key bodies responsible for resolving football disputes are either
not fully constituted or their legitimacy is being challenged.
He pointed particularly to the Disciplinary and Appeals
Committees, arguing that clubs, players, and other stakeholders need independent
and properly constituted institutions where they can seek redress whenever
disputes arise.
“Most importantly is the fact that we have started a season
without the judicial bodies in place at the moment. Now, that will definitely,
if we are not careful, take us back to where we have been.
“Because in the absence of an internal dispute resolution
mechanism, will you leave it for the stakeholders if there are issues?” Aduda
observed.
His concerns come against the backdrop of a Sports Disputes
Tribunal ruling that questioned the constitution and authority of FKF's
judicial structures.
The Tribunal previously found that the FKF Disciplinary
Committee, as constituted, was invalid and directed the federation to
regularize its judicial bodies in accordance with the FKF Constitution.
For Aduda, the problem goes beyond individual cases. He
argued that the absence of functioning judicial institutions creates
uncertainty over the validity of decisions affecting clubs, players, and the
league itself.
He further weighed in on the FKF National Executive
Committee ahead of their meeting scheduled for Wednesday and the agendas slated,
including league competitions and the federation's judicial bodies, alongside
other governance matters.
“I would forget about the majority of those agendas and deal
with precisely four. Deal with the agenda touching on the commencement of the
league, deal with the agenda of the judicial bodies, and deal with the issue of
the GS, because currently the Federation is operating without a substantive
General Secretary, which is a real governance breach.
Instead of an agenda there about the AGM, I would replace
that AGM with a special general meeting such that once they come up with names
for members of the judicial bodies, they can immediately convene a special
general meeting so that that general meeting can give approval to the members
of the judicial bodies so that we can kick-start the season. All those other
agendas are not as important as what we are talking about,” Aduda added.
Despite the difficulties, Aduda remains optimistic that the
league can still be salvaged. His message is that the current crisis can be
addressed if FKF leadership returns to the federation's constitutional
framework, restores properly constituted judicial bodies, and allows the NEC to
exercise its mandate collectively.