The FIFA-backed Kenya Football Federation (KFF), thrown out by the High Court Friday for being in office illegally, said it was ready to work with the new team in revamping soccer in Kenya.
He said the management of football at the national level could not be left to “strangers”.
This followed a successful suit filed by the faction led by a former KFF secretary-general, Sam Nyamweya, who has all along been recognised by the Kenya Government.
The Nyamweya group had claimed in its suit that the ousted group had no mandate to run the federation, as it was represented by fake delegates, some dead, at a Special General Meeting (SGM) which gave the Nyamweya and company the mandate to run the sport.
The Nyamweya group convened the SGM in Nairobi, while the ousted team held its meeting in the coastal town of Malindi, about 500km east of the capital, Nairobi.
On close scrutiny of the Hatimy delegates’ register, the Kenyan authorities unearthed irregularities on the list, with some of the purported delegates long dead.
It was against this background that the high court tossed out the Hatimy group, giving the Nyamweya-led group the go-ahead to run the federation.
And in a new development Sunday, Titus Kasuve, the first vice-chairman of the ousted group, said they had no quarrel with the court ruling and was willing to work with the new administration for the sake of Kenyan football.
He said challenging the decision would be counter-productive and likely to put Kenya on a collision course with FIFA.
“We know what a court order means. It has serious implications. We cannot go against the law since we are law-abiding citizens,” said Kasuve.
Nyamweya, credited with taking Kenyan soccer to new heights in the past, faces a daunting task of ensuring that Kenya qualifies for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the African Cup of Nations in 2010.
To set the ball rolling ahead of the World Cup campaigns which kick off in June, Nyamweya has appointed a new head coach, goalkeeper-turned-coach James Siang’a, who on Saturday named a 36-member provisional World Cup qualifier team.
Kenya is drawn against Guinea, Namibia and Zimbabwe in the 2010 World Cup/ Nations Cup joint qualifiers.
