Whether or not the 2016 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) season will kick off on Saturday 13 February remains a matter of speculation and will be determined on Tuesday 9 February.
A case at the Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT) is seeking among other issues, prayers that the season kickoff be halted, the contest being the questionable promotion of Kakamega Homeboyz and Posta Rangers.
Towards the close of the 2015 season, second tier – FKF Premier League – teams went up in arms over decisions by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) aimed at giving two teams (Shabana FC and Kakamega Homeboyz) an advantage in the championship even after lack of a clear promotion and demotion criteria and non-payment of referees’
See Kakamega Homeboys and Poster Rangers promoted to top league.
15 of 17 clubs, under the FKF PL Governing Council agreed not to continue with their matches until the three issues were addressed and with the federation refusing to toe their line and promoting the two, a case was filed by Ligi Ndogo SC, one of the second tier teams, to stop the duo’s recognition as top flight sides.
On Tuesday 2 February, the tribunal headed by the chairman Mr. John Ohaga, had a hearing for the case and set the date for the ruling on Tuesday 9 February.
In attendance was lawyer Ken Ochieng representing the petitioner, Ligi Ndogo whose prayers, apart from asking that the KPL commencement be stopped, also asks that the tribunal rules that the FKF PL did not run to completion, that it continues from where it stopped; he also wishes that the promotion of Kakamega Homeboyz and Posta Rangers be termed premature.
On the other side of the divide, Ongau Ombati appearing for the FKF and Posta Rangers is calling for the tribunal to rule that is has no jurisdiction to hear the case, given that the FKF has enough mechanisms to handle it, and that the mechanisms were not explored exhaustively before the applicant filed the case.
