Kenya disbands national football federation due to allegations of corruption, puts caretaker committee in charge

Nairobi: Kenya on Thursday disbanded its national football federation over corruption allegations and said it may seek to prosecute any culpable officials. Sports Minister Amina Mohamed said the action was taken after a government investigation into the finances of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) revealed it had failed to account for all funds received from the government and other sponsors. She said in a statement there would be a further probe to “establish the extent to which the misappropriation of funds in FKF may have occurred, with a view of prosecuting those who may be found culpable”. The minister named a caretaker committee to run the federation’s affairs until fresh elections are held in six months’ time. “Over the past few years, the Football Kenya Federation has faced several governance issues that have been of great concern to the ministry,” Mohamed said. She said the FKF had “failed to account for all the monies allocated to it by the government”. The federation is “required to fully disclose any financial assistance received from other sponsors”, she said, adding that FKF “had fallen short of this requirement”. Kenya’s decision to suspend the FKF officials may put Kenya at loggerheads with FIFA which prohibits government interference in the affairs of local federations. Mohamed said Kenya had informed FIFA about the outcome of the government investigation.