Kenya drops corruption charges against head of the national football body

A Kenyan court on Thursday dropped corruption charges against the suspended head of the national football body and declared the case closed after the state failed to provide any evidence against him. Nick Mwendwa was arrested on 12 November, a day after Sports Minister Amina Mohamed set up a caretaker committee to run the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) after an investigation uncovered alleged financial irregularities during his tenure. But Nairobi magistrate Wandia Nyamu dismissed the case after prosecutors, who had applied for seven days to enable them to conduct investigations, sought to close the file against the 42-year-old. “I therefore order this matter closed,” Nyamu said, also ordering that Mwendwa be refunded his four-million -shilling ($35,500) bail payment. The prosecution however said it planned to continue with investigations into the finances of the FKF after Mohamed accused the body of failing to account for funds received from the government and other sponsors. The FKF caretaker committee met with Kenya’s top-tier clubs on Wednesday and announced the resumption of the domestic league on 4 December after being postponed for two weeks because of the federation’s suspension.