War of words dominate inaugural but fiery FKF Presidential Debate

A total of six candidates were present in Kenya's first Football Kenya Federation Presidential Debate, where they got the opportunity to present their vision to the nation.

In front of a dedicated panel in Nairobi, the candidates present included: Tom Alila, Sam Ocholla, Barry Otieno, Sammy 'Kempes' Owino, Cleophas Shimanyula, and Chris Amimo.

Doris Petra, Hussein Mohammed, and Sam Nyamweya, on the flipside, opted to skip the forum—a new platform offered to the candidates ahead of the 7 December national polls.

Top of the agenda was a look into the expectations of each candidate regarding, among others, youth football development, league management, and sporting infrastructure.

One end was Alila, who backed up his idea of "changing the FKF constitution to incorporate schools as key members", to the articulate Otieno and Amimo, who seemed to almost read from the same script.

Barry Otieno and Chris Amimo forced to go defensive

Given the state of Kenyan football at this moment, it was perhaps not a surprise that the majority of candidates went on a spirited assault on the current administration, either calling for its reform, or flat-out implicating it for its dozen misteps.

In between the crossfire, as expected, was the duo of Otieno (former FKF Chief Executive who only resigned in the last few weeks) and Amimo, an executive member of the same institution.

Among the questions they had to deal with were those to do with the alleged misappropriation of funds during their term in office, and the scourge of match-fixing that continues to ruin the game in Kenya.

On alleged misappropriation of funds, Otieno said that there was “no active case against him", and added that all the previous charges (in three court summons) against him and federation president Nick Mwendwa had been “disbanded, termed malicious, and found to result in abuse of the court process.”

On the purchase of an OB-Van that never arrived, the former FKF CEO said “We (office) made a business mistake."

Amimo, on the other hand, seemed to brush off allegations linked to his "brainchild,” Ligi Ndogo FC, even saying: "I made a mistake and bad incidents happen to the best of us."

Shimanyula, in the heated topic about match-fixing, said that referees and match officials had not been paid for three years, a statement that was pushed back by Otieno, confirming that all dues had been paid, stressing that all arguments had to be made with facts.

On questions surrounding budgets, Otieno, who was later supported by club members present, made it clear that all financial statements were availed to clubs before every Annual General Meetings, stressing that all transactions were transparent, adding that those with dissenting views—Ocholla, Owino, and Shimanyula—were “probably busy running their clubs and private businesses.”

Though often shifting to individual battles rather than actual policies, plus the absence of elaborate fact-checking, the audience was given a proper treat of what to expect from their candidates should they get into office.