April 3 – Former Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwenda has been cleared by a domestic court of graft charges.
Mwendwa (pictured) faced multiple counts of fraud as part of a group that allegedly embezzled 38 million Kenyan shillings (€265,000) in funds the government and sponsors had channelled to the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) for running the national teams, but he was cleared by a local court.
The evidence was in the view of the magistrate not enough to implicate the embattled FKF boss. “This honorable court hereby issues orders to the effect that the charge sheet dated July 7, 2022 and/or any other charge sheet prepared and registered in this court by the DPP and/or his prosecutor(s) against the accused person after July 6, 2022 be and is hereby struck out for being defective, unlawful, unconstitutional and for being an abuse of the court process/criminal justice system,” the Magistrate ruled.
In a statement, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) wrote: “It’s over. The court case against FKF President Nick Mwendwa has been dismissed today at the Kiambu Law Courts … Kiambu Magistrate Wilson Rading set aside the charges that he termed as defective, unlawful, unconstitutional, and an abuse of the court process/criminal justice system.”
The acquittal means that Mwenda could be free to return as the FKF president. Mwenda’s time in office was highly controversial, having expanded the domestic top flight to 18 clubs, which prompted a termination of the broadcast contract with Supersport.
At the age of 36, Mwenda had succeeded Sam Nyamweya as FKF president in 2016. Four years later, he was re-elected for a second term, but he was arrested in 2021, a week after the government had disbanded the FKF prompting instant intervention by world football’s governing body.
Late last year, FIFA lifted Kenya’s suspension from world football after Kenya’s sports minister reinstated the FKF’s executive committee.
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