A Fresh Start for Kenyan Football as Hussein and Mariga Secure Victory

Following the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) county and sub county executive committees’ elections 2 weeks ago, the Elective General Assembly was held yesterday at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani. At the end of the exercise, Hussein Mohammed and his running mate Macdonald Mariga emerged as the winners, in what was quite a comprehensive victory.

While the two, campaigned under the moniker “Team Fresh Start”, they are both not new names to the Kenyan football community. The tag was directed at the team of Doris Petra and Nick Mwenda, representatives of the former administration.

Voting Process

Delegates at Kasarani were rather calm and quiet as they streamed in. For the interested parties not at the venue, the federation had a livestream on their YouTube channel, which broadcasted for 7hrs 25 mins and had 36,184 viewers at the end.

After votes were cast, the manual process of counting votes for National Executive Committee (NEC) regional members and women representative began. The Nairobi NEC race was tight with Michael Ouma losing to AFC Leopards Dan Shikanda 23 to 25. In the women representative race, Violet Kerubo, who had narrowly lost in the previous election, won this time round with a huge margin.

Women Representative (NEC): Violet Kerubo Momanyi

FKF 50% + 1 Rule

The highly anticipated presidential vote count came next. Based on the NEC members announcement and pre-pronounced alignments to Team Blue (Petra and Nick) and Team Fresh Start, it was looking like Hussein had an edge. However, the ballot was secret and so, the actual count was what mattered not public pronouncements.

At the end of the first round, Hussein Mohammed had garnered 43 votes, Doris Petra 31 votes, and Barry Onyango 10 votes. This trio formed the top three but the 50% + 1 threshold had not been met.

According to the FKF General Election code of conduct:

“For the election of the FKF President and Vice President, a majority (more than 50 %) of the votes of the FKF members present and eligible to vote are necessary in the first ballot. If none of the candidates obtained a majority after the first ballot and there are more than three candidates for one available position, the three candidates that obtain the highest number of votes will remain for the following ballot. Should there be three candidates remaining in a ballot, the

candidate that obtains the lowest number of votes will be eliminated and a following ballot will take place with the two remaining candidates.” 

This means for the presidential seat; a win cannot be secured by simple majority. A candidate needs 46 votes from the total of 90 to be declared winner. Hence, a run off followed even after Doris and Barry had officially conceded. In the end Hussein's Team Fresh Start had enough votes to be declared the winners. With 67 of the votes in the run off, he brought an end to the eight-year Nick Mwendwa-Dorris Petra reign.

Hussein Mohammed’s Immediate Challenges

For the new office, the short-term challenge is hosting of the CHAN 2025, that is meant to be co hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. To pull this off, the office needs to work hand-in-hand with everyone involved, especially the government. After all, the biggest hurdle is the unfinished stadiums.

Their term will also oversee the 2027 AFCON, jointly hosted by the three countries under the Pamoja bid. In the past, Kenya's inability to timely complete necessary facilities has prevented it from hosting these 2 tournaments. The new administration must aim to rectify this unfortunate trend.

Hussein and Mariga also come into office after the Harambee Stars failed to qualify for the AFCON 2025. The team has also not played at home for more than a year and has no technical bench in place. Further, none of the FKF leagues have officially title sponsors and most clubs across the league pyramid are struggling to raise funds.

In a statement after his victory, Hussein promised to deliver for everyone, and Kenyans will hope he lives up to this promise.

He stated, “This is not just our win - it’s a win for every player, fan, club, and supporter who dreams of a better future for our game. The work to rebuild Kenyan football begins now. Together, we will restore pride, nurture talent, and bring back the passion that unites us all,”.

The challenges of Kenyan football are known, and team fresh start has their work cut out. As they begin their term, the Kenyan football fraternity wishes them well.

New FKF NEC Committee

The composition of the New FKF National Executive Committee is as follows:

• President: Hussein Mohamed
• Vice President: McDonald Mariga
• NEC Member (Western): Caleb Amwayi
• NEC Member (Coast): Gabriel Mghendi
• NEC Member (Nyanza): Collins Opiyo Kalee
• NEC Member (Eastern): Charles Njoka
• NEC Member (Upper Rift Valley): Bernard Lagat
• NEC Member (Nairobi): Dan Shikanda
• NEC Member (North Eastern): Ahmedqadar Mohammed Dabar
• NEC Member (Lower Rift Valley): Peter Kamau
• NEC Member (Central): Robert Macharia
• Women Representative (NEC): Violet Kerubo Momanyi

The NEC is a key decision-making body within the FKF.

FKF County Executive Chairpersons

Feature Image Credit: Team Fresh