By Robert Kibet
The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) Secretariat has confirmed that a Special General Assembly would be convened within a month to chart the next course of action after the highly-anticipated elections of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) were adjourned Thursday following a deadlock involving four federations.
The Triathlon, Volleyball, Handball, and Taekwondo federations disagreed on who, between their presidents and secretaries-general, held the rightful mandate to vote.
Francis Mutuku, the NOC-K Secretary-General, announced the adjournment after the committee’s executive failed to resolve the impasse during Thursday’s Annual General Assembly, citing legal uncertainties and internal disputes within the federations.
“The elections in our Annual General Assembly could not proceed,” Mutuku said.
“The Tribunal gave us the green light to go on, but other High Court matters, particularly concerning nominations, remained unresolved. The court was clear—federations left out of the process due to nomination issues must be included. But we simply could not determine how to do that without a clear consensus.”
According to Mutuku, the Executive Committee tried to mediate, but the federations in question could not reach an agreement on who would cast their vote.
“Each federation had meetings with the President, but unfortunately, they were unable to agree,” he said. “For the sake of harmony and legal compliance, we had no choice but to adjourn.”
Mutuku added that the elections could now be held within 14 to 30 days, once the federations resolve their internal leadership disputes or receive clarity from the courts.
“This pause gives us time to settle the eligibility of candidates and address outstanding legal interpretations,” he noted, emphasizing that the NOC-K Secretariat and Executive would remain operational in the interim, ensuring no disruption to athletes’ programs.
Barnaba Korir, Athletics Kenya Youth Development Director and a candidate for the NOC-K First Vice President’s position, called for unity, generational renewal, and reform during the impasse.
He urged federations to align their constitutions with both the Domestic Olympic Guidelines and international standards to avoid repeated court battles.
“When we started the AGM, our first agenda was constitutional reform,” Korir said. “We even passed a resolution to enforce the one-third gender rule—if it isn’t achieved through the ballot, we’ll co-opt members to balance it out.”
Korir warned that some federation leaders might not even be legitimate officeholders. “Some of these federations haven’t held elections since 2014. We need to ask — are they fit to participate in NOCK processes?” he posed. “We can’t let a few individuals hold the Olympic movement hostage.”
Despite the temporary halt, Korir reassured stakeholders that Kenya’s preparations for upcoming global events remain on track.
“The executive is still functional. Athletes will not suffer. All our programmes, including preparations for the 2026 Youth Olympics in Dakar and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, are on course.”
Korir said he wanted to bridge divides within the Olympic family.
“I didn’t want to lean East or West — I wanted to represent everyone. But it’s time the youth of this country get their chance to lead.”
The NOC-K Secretariat confirmed that a Special General Assembly would be convened within a month.
“The best interest of sports,” Mutuku concluded, “is that elections are held to give a full mandate to office bearers. The programmes for the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, and athlete welfare are too important to be caught in power struggles.”
Until then, Kenya’s Olympic leadership remains in limbo, awaiting a resolution that could redefine the future of its sporting governance.
Whether the federations will resolve their disputes internally or drag the process back into legal corridors remains to be seen.
Robert Kibet is a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya. He previously worked as a correspondent for Milele FM. His feature stories on development, the climate crisis, the environment, conflict, human rights, food security, and education have been published in The Guardian UK, Reuters, IPS, DW, The New Humanitarian, and Equal Times.
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