Off the wire
• Feature: Lunar New Year in Hong Kong, when tradition meets fashion  • Moody's downgrade politically-motivated: Russian officials  • Roundup: Former South Sudan political prisoners agree to work with president Kiir  • Indian court sends 5 corporate officials to police custody over corporate espionage  • Australian A-League soccer results  • Former Somali lawmaker says he knows hotel suicide bomber  • Africa Economy: Ethiopia to host int'l conference on sustainable dev't  • China's A shares raise 724.9 bln yuan in 2014  • Indian left-wing, opposition parties condemn killing of veteran politician  • Philippines raises concern over high bacteria levels on Boracay water  
You are here: 　 Home

Kenyan federation rushes to court in league dispute

Xinhua, February 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) turned to local courts to secure an injunctions to stop rivals Kenyan Premier League (KPL) from kicking off their parallel Premier League on Saturday.

In contravention of their own and indeed Fifa statutes that forbid resolution of football disputes through the courts, the federation whose own top flight competition named FKF Premier League starts next Wednesday secured orders against KPL under a suit filed under a certificate of urgency on Friday evening.

Nairobi's Milimani High Court judge Justice Mbogholi Msagha barred KPL from hosting, commencing, running, managing or in any way conducting a parallel league, pending the March 3 hearing of a case filed by FKF.

The judge directed FKF to serve defendants who included KPL, Kenya Football Referees Association and Sports Kenya.

"Upon reading the application dated Feb. 20, and presented to court the same day by Counsel for the plaintiff under order 40 Rule 1 and 2 of the Civil procedure Rules and section 3A of the Civil procedure act and upon reading the supporting affidavit of Sam Nyamweya, it's here by ordered that the application be certified as urgent," read the injunction.

"The Defendants are hereby restrained by way of injunction from hosting, running, managing or in any way conducting a parallel Premier League in Kenya in the name of Kenyan Premier League or in another name for 14 days from Feb. 20."

However, the federation in running to the corridors of justice went against one of their own laws that states "FKF, its members will not take any dispute to Ordinary Courts unless specifically provided for in these Statutes and FIFA regulations. Any disagreement shall be submitted to the jurisdiction of FIFA, CAF or FKF."

Further, it contrived Article 64 of world body Fifa statute on dispute resolutions in football binding all 209 member federations worldwide.

"The Associations shall insert a clause in their statutes or regulations, stipulating that it is prohibited to take disputes in the Association or disputes affecting Leagues, members of Leagues, clubs, members of clubs, Players, Officials and other Association Officials to ordinary courts of law, unless the FIFA regulations or binding legal provisions specifically provide for or stipulate recourse to ordinary courts of law," the world body law states.

"Instead of recourse to ordinary courts of law, provision shall be made for arbitration. Such disputes shall be taken to an independent and duly constituted arbitration tribunal recognised under the rules of the Association or Confederation or to CAS."

"The Associations shall also ensure that this stipulation is implemented in the Association, if necessary by imposing a binding obligation on its members. The Associations shall impose sanctions on any party that fails to respect this obligation and ensure that any appeal against such sanctions shall likewise be strictly submitted to arbitration, and not to ordinary courts of law," Statute 64 underlines.

The latest action that lost its war to force the league management body formed in 2007 following tripartite talks involving FIFA, Government and two rivals' federations at the time, Football Kenya Limited and Kenya Football Federation that were dissolved in 2011 when Sam Nyamweya came to power in unified elections to form FKF.

It is the second time FKF have gone against Fifa having trashed the report of experts seconded to the country by the world body who supported a 16-team Premier League that is fronted by KPL against the federation's stated wish to have 18 sides in the top flight.

KPL CEO, Jack Oguda, said they had not been served with the court order and would continue with their programme on Saturday as planned.

"We have not received any injunction but I will discuss the matter with my chairman, Ambrose Rachier who is a lawyer before making decisive decision but if we are not served with the Court Order then we will go on with our league as planned," Oguda said.

Talks between the two to find a last ditch agreement collapsed Wednesday with FKF promoting 14 Super League sides to their FKF Premier League to take the place of those allied to KPL who failed to register with them by Thursday deadline. Endi