FKF crisis: Inside the troubled Kandanda House

“What’s so difficult?”  Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Hussein Mohammed repeated the question on Monday as he sought to explain why efforts to resolve the federation’s deepening leadership crisis have repeatedly failed.

But the question is ironic. For a while, Mohammed was directing it at members of his own National Executive Committee (NEC) whom he accused of refusing to attend meetings; Kenyan football itself is now facing a problem that appears increasingly difficult to solve.

The new FKF Premier League season, initially meant to kick off in August, was supposed to begin on September 19. It did not.

Clubs have prepared, players have trained, sponsors have invested, broadcasters have planned and supporters have waited, only for the league to be caught up between conflicting court orders, disputed regulations and a leadership which looks increasingly divided.

There is still no confirmed new date, and the bigger question now confronting Kenyan football is how did we get here? Football is now being played in courts and not on the pitch.

Mohammed and his acting Secretary General Dennis Gicheru faced that question, among many others, during a lengthy media engagement session in Nairobi. They were at pain to explain the current stalemate that seems to have brought the Premier League on its knees.

The president arrived with a familiar message saying FKF is ready to run the league, but the courts have created a situation in which proceeding could expose the federation, clubs and other stakeholders to legal consequences.

But the problem goes beyond the court cases. At the heart of the dispute are questions over which rules should apply, who has the final say and whether FKF’s leadership can still work together as one.

The immediate crisis is very straightforward. Kenyan football clubs should have been playing last weekend if not last month. They instead remain on the sidelines after FKF postponed the opening round again following fresh court orders.

The problem revolves around the composition of the league and, more specifically, the fate of Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United. Sharks finished 16th in the 2025/26 Premier League and were relegated under the 2025 regulations. Mombasa United, on the other hand, finished third in the National Super League (NSL) and were therefore in contention for promotion.

Which rules apply?

Under the earlier 2019 regulations, however, the team finishing 16th in the top flight could face the third-placed NSL side in a promotion-relegation playoff. The 2025 framework changed that arrangement, providing for the bottom three Premier League teams to be relegated automatically and the top three NSL teams to be promoted. That technical change has become the bone of contention under which the entire new season has been delayed.

The Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) has previously validated the 2025 rules, but the issue has continued through the courts. By the time the September 19 kickoff approached, the dispute had produced a legal hurdle.

One High Court order required FKF to first organise a playoff between Sharks and Mombasa Utd, another order directed them to include the latter as the 18th team in the Premier League.

For the federation, the dilemma was to comply with one order and risk violating another. The FKF boss therefore maintained that postponing the league was not a choice but the safest option available.

The federation argued that playing matches under such uncertainty could create consequences extending beyond the federation itself, potentially affecting clubs, players, sponsors, broadcasters and even the validity of results.

Gicheru attempted to simplify the matter during Monday's media session as the former Wazito captain disputed the interpretation that a playoff was automatically required.

He argued there was no fundamental conflict between the rules and maintained that the 2025 framework had been approved by the federation's leadership and subsequently validated by the SDT.

“The relegation and promotion criteria is clearly set out by the NEC before the season, there was a misconception from the Murang’a court that playoffs were mandatory, so it requires a substantive hearing. Rules are not specific on the playoffs, exco abolished the relegation-promotion criteria. The only decision we have at the moment on the validation of rules is the SDT decision validating the 2025 rules,” he explained.

But the competing court proceedings demonstrate why the issue has become so difficult to contain. The 2019 regulations are being relied upon by those arguing that Sharks should have an opportunity to fight for their top-flight survival against Mombasa Utd. 2025 rules are the basis of FKF's position that relegation and promotion should happen automatically.

Hussein-Mariga feud 

The league crisis has arrived at an already difficult moment for FKF, when the federation no longer appears to be operating as a united front.

Mohammed and his deputy, former Harambee Stars midfielder McDonald Mariga, have emerged on opposite sides of a leadership dispute that has involved a section of National Executive Committee (NEC) members.

Some members even tried to suspend the FKF chief in April, before a Fifa directive ruled the move unprocedural. The division has increasingly become impossible to separate from the football administration. Mohammed was asked directly whether he had “lost the dressing room”, and pointed to repeated failed attempts to convene meetings with NEC members and other stakeholders.

“What is so difficult?” he asked. He argued he had tried four times to convene meetings and had previously sat with government representatives, Fifa, Caf and NEC members to discuss the federation's problems. His complaint was that some members failed to attend meetings intended to find solutions.

“If someone does not show up for meetings, that question should be directed to them,” Mohammed continued, adding that the door to dialogue remains open.

Some of his critics, however, have questioned the direction of the FKF and demanded changes at the top.

When Caf president Patrice Motsepe visited Kenya last week to inspect facilities being prepared for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), he publicly called for unity within Kenyan football. Motsepe also noticed that the FKF deputy president was not present during the inspection and asked about his whereabouts.

Tusker chairman Charles Gacheru also recently called for Mohammed, Mariga and the entire NEC to leave office, blaming the federation's leadership for what he described as failures in management.

During Monday's media session, Mohammed questioned the record of those calling for a ‘caretaker committee’ or intervention by Caf and Fifa, particularly taking issue with the club chairman, whom he accused of having his own unresolved problems.

The media also pressed Mohammed on another unresolved issue, the continued presence of Gicheru as acting Secretary General. Gicheru has been operating in an acting capacity following the removal of Harold Ndege from the position earlier this year.

Mohammed explained that a February 6 NEC meeting, attended by all but one member, resolved to terminate Ndege's services. But Ndege had already moved to the Labour Court seeking protection. The court order allowed FKF to appoint a Secretary General in an acting capacity pending further directions. The substantive dispute is not expected back in court until April 2027.

Mohammed maintained that disputes should, where applicable, first be dealt with through established football and sports-dispute mechanisms instead of arriving in ordinary courts immediately before competitions.

The Nairobi United-Gor Mahia case, which involved the Sports Dispute Tribunal and an FKF appeal, was another example raised during the grilling. He maintained that FKF had sought a stay because the SDT orders could not be implemented in the circumstances.

FKF says it has secured a Sh1.12 billion SportPesa title sponsorship and an Azam broadcast deal for the new season, agreements meant to give the Premier League a stronger financial base. But for those deals to work, the league has to be played. The uncertainty is already making planning difficult for many businesses that depend on matchdays.

Mohammed was also asked whether he was genuinely prepared to let FKF Congress determine the way forward rather than continuing to pursue disputes through the SDT, NEC and courts.

“Congress is the supreme ultimate body within FKF,” he answered, adding that Congress would determine how football should be governed in the country.

NEC rebuttal

And yesterday, NEC members allied to deputy president McDonald Mariga issued a statement challenging several of the president's arguments and offering what they described as a practical “way out” of the crisis.

Their message was blunt, that the standoff could not be solved by trading accusations in public. They want the NEC back around the table and decisions made through the federation's constitutional structures. The members acknowledged that FKF had made progress in some areas but argued that achievements could not take the place of resolving the immediate problems.

They also pushed back against Mohammed's criticism of stakeholders who have gone to court, arguing the FKF cannot criticise stakeholders for seeking judicial redress while relying on the courts when it suits its own interests The NEC members pointed out that FKF itself had previously taken football disputes to the ordinary courts, citing the Nairobi United-Gor Mahia case.

“It is therefore inconsistent to invoke the courts when convenient and subsequently criticise stakeholders for seeking judicial redress. The Federation must apply the same standard to itself and its stakeholders,” read part of the statement.

The NEC members also argued that the federation's own judicial and dispute-resolution bodies have not been properly established or operationalised, leaving members with few effective internal avenues for resolving grievances.

The members also say acting Secretary General Gicheru's six-month appointment has expired and had not been lawfully extended by the NEC. Their argument is that if an extension still requires consideration by the NEC, then the president cannot simultaneously maintain that the existing tenure continues automatically.

The Mariga-aligned members rejected the account that the FKF boss had tried four times to convene meetings and questioned why some NEC members had failed to attend. They maintained they remain ready and willing to attend a properly convened meeting, provided it follows the FKF Constitution and proper governance procedures. They also raised concerns about the accuracy of NEC minutes, claiming there have previously been instances where members questioned whether meeting records accurately reflected discussions and resolutions.

As a way forward, the NEC first want Mohammed to convene a properly constituted NEC meeting within the required constitutional timelines. Agreeing on the dates and framework for the 2026/27 season, establishing and operationalising FKF's judicial bodies, and resolving the position of the acting General Secretary/CEO, they say, should be top of the agenda.

They also want all FKF competitions to begin in an orderly manner while respecting the FKF Constitution, applicable regulations and existing court directives.

Whether the two sides can agree to take that route may determine not only when the 2026/27 Premier League begins, but also whether FKF can emerge from its current division with a functioning leadership and a restored sense of confidence among Kenyan football faithful.

Where do we go from here?

The immediate search is for a way out of the Sharks-Mombasa United impasse. Mohammed says FKF is consulting lawyers and affected clubs and is open to an expedited playoff or another mutually acceptable arrangement that complies with the relevant court orders and regulations.

A two-legged playoff has emerged as one possible route.