Football leadership in Kenya has shuttled between elected and Caretaker Committees due to a government step-in following, largely, disbandment of the federation for a reason or another.[1]
On 18 March 1963 John Kasyoka was elected in an Annual General Meeting to head Kenyan football. The then Nairobi Deputy mayor made history as he was the first native to take charge of Kenya football. He was elected back after a year, on 17 March 1964, to become the first FA boss in post independent Kenya. He was re-elected back for a third term on 30 March 1965. With no elections in the next two years, he stayed on as boss till 13 Dec 1968 when the FA of Kenya was dissolved by the then Minister of Co-operatives Ronald Ngala stating the FA had "completely ignored their responsibilities and involving themselves in petty quarrels emanating from personal clashes".[2]
Martin Shikuku was next elected in Jan 1970 but less than ten months later was hounded out of office by Masinde Muliro, Minister for Co-operatives & Social services. Martin 'Bill' Martin was elected next, unopposed, but stepped down after a year in office following his promotion as Provincial Commissioner (PC) to North Eastern Province. It was Williams Ngaah turn in June 1973 following his election but only till January of 1974 after being kicked out by Masinde Muliro.
Kenneth Matiba[3] was elected to office in Aug 1974 under a new entity Kenya Football Federation (KFF) ending the era of Kenya Football Association (KFA). He became the first chair to complete a full four-year term. He did not seek re-election when the next elections were called in Nov 1978 paving way for his rival Dan Owino to assume office. Owino didn't last long as Robert Matano, Minister for Housing and Social Services, disbanded the federation allowing Bill Martin to return as an appointed chair of an Adhoc Committee, then John Kasyoka on recommendation of the Kenya National Sports Council (KNSC).
Clement Gachanja (Jan 1982) then Joab Omino (Oct 1985) were elected to office but had interrupted terms due to government interference. Omino[4] was to however return in Sep 1991 for a full second term that ended in Feb 1996. Peter Kenneth (Feb 1996-Mar 2000), Maina Kariuki (Mar 2000-Mar 2004) were the next in office. The latter though had a one week interruption in May 2002 to his time in office after the then Minister of Sports Francis Nyenze appointed a caretaker committee headed by Philip Kisia.[5] It was overruled by the High Court.
Alfred Sambu, who lost to Kariuki in 2000 then assumed office in 29 Dec 2004[6] only to be ousted by coup led by Mohammed Hatimy in Aug 2005. Hatimy was to be elected in Nov 2008 under a new umbrella, Football Kenya Ltd, and after a full term gave way to Sam Nyamweya in Oct 2011[7] [8] under Football Kenya Federation.
On 10 February 2016, Nick Mwendwa, then 37 years old, was confirmed as the Federation boss[9] beating his closest challenger Ambrose Rachier 50 to 27 votes[10] at Kasarani Annex to become the 14th elected football boss in independent Kenya. That election, the 18th in the last 55 years, was organized by the Electoral Board and conducted by the Institute of Education in Democracy (IED).
Sam Nyamweya failed to defend his seat after he stepped down minutes to the polls.[11] [12] Nyamweya, together with three other aspirants; former Kenya Breweries and National team midfielder Sammy Sholei, Re-union Chair Evans Gor Semelang'o, and former AFC Leopards Chair Ssemi Aina, all polled zero votes.
Mwendwa successfully defended his seat in the next elections [13] in the next election held on 17 October 2020 after polling 77 of the possible 85 votes.[14]
In the advent of four year terms from the early 70s, Mwendwa became only the first Kenyan football chief to be re-elected back to office[15] after a full uninterrupted term. Though Job Omino achieved a re-election in 1991, his first term in office, after being elected on 12 Oct 1985, was marred by a government dissolution of the federation on 3 March 1989. He later reclaimed his seat following an election ordered by the former Kenya President Daniel arap Moi on 7 September 1991. He went on to complete a full term.
The following is a list of the Kenya football chiefs over time, elected or appointed.
| Kenya Football chiefs | Tenure | Entity | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Riddel | Kenya Football Association | |||
| Peter Flucker | Kenya Football Association | |||
| George Wallace | 8 Oct 1957 - ? | Kenya Football Association | ||
| Gordon John Bell | - | Kenya Football Association | ||
| John Kasyoka | 18 Mar 1963-17 Mar 1964 | Kenya Football Association | Elected. 1st native to take charge of Kenyan football | |
| John Kasyoka | 17 Mar 1964-30 Mar 1965 | Kenya Football Association | Re-elected. 1st football boss in post independent Kenya | |
| John Kasyoka | 30 Mar 1965-13 Dec 1968 | Kenya Football Association | Re-elected once again. Reign ended by Ronald Ngala, Minister for Co-operatives | |
| Johnathan Njenga | 13 Dec 1968-24 Jan 1970 | Caretaker committee (1st ever) | Appointed chair by Ronald Ngala, Minister for Co-operatives | |
| 24 Jan 1970-7 Oct 1970 | Kenya Football Association | Elected. Reign ended by Masinde Muliro, Minister for Co-operatives & Social services | ||
| Isaac Lugonzo | 7 Oct 1970-16 Oct 1970 | Kenya National Sports Council (KNSC) | Onus handed over by Masinde Muliro, Minister for Co-operatives & Social services to organise next election | |
| Martin 'Bill' Martin | 16 Oct 1970-24 Sep 1971 | Kenya Football Association | Elected unopposed. Stepped down after promotion as PC to N.E Province | |
| Samuel Ogembo | 14 Oct 1971-15 Jun 1973 | Caretaker committee | Appointed interim chair by Masinde Muliro, Minister for Co-operatives & Social services | |
| Williams Ngaah | 16 June 1973-Jan 1974 | Kenya Football Association | Elected. Reign ended by Masinde Muliro, Minister for Co-operatives & Social services | |
| Isaac Lugonzo | Jan 1974-24 Aug 1974 | Kenya National Sports Council (KNSC) | Onus handed over by Masinde Muliro, Minister for Co-operatives & Social services to organise next election | |
| 24 Aug 1974-26 Nov 1978 | Kenya Football Federation | Elected. 1st football boss to complete four-year full term | ||
| Dan Owino | 26 Nov 1978-21 Feb 1980 | Kenya Football Federation | Elected. Reign disrupted by Robert Matano, Minister for Housing and Social Services | |
| Martin 'Bill' Martin | 21 Feb 1980-11 Mar 1980 | Adhoc committee | Appointed chair by Robert Matano, Minister for Housing and Social Services. Quit after 20 days citing interference by the same Matano | |
| John Kasyoka | 11 Mar 1980-9 Jan 1982 | Caretaker committee | Appointed chair by Kenya National Sports Council (KNSC) | |
| Clement Gachanja | 9 Jan 1982-25 Apr 1985 | Kenya Football Federation | Elected. Reign disrupted by Robert Matano, Minister for Culture and Social Services | |
| 25 Apr 1985-12 Oct 1985 | Caretaker committee | Appointed chair by Robert Matano, Minister for Culture and Social Services | ||
| 12 Oct 1985-3 Mar 1989 | Kenya Football Federation | Elected. Reign cut short by Paul Ngei, Minister for Culture and Social Services | ||
| Mathews Adams Karauri | 3 Mar 1989-7 Sep 1991 | Caretaker committee | Appointed chair by Paul Ngei, Minister for Culture and Social Services | |
| 7 Sep 1991-17 Feb 1996 | Kenya Football Federation | Elected. 2nd term | ||
| 17 Feb 1996-24 Mar 2000 | Kenya Football Federation | Elected. Full term | ||
| 24 Mar 2000-17 May 2002 | Kenya Football Federation | Elected. | ||
| Philip Kisia | 17 May 2002-23 May 2002 | Caretaker committee | Appointed chair by Minister of Sports Francis Nyenze. High Court overturns it, reinstates Kariuki | |
| 24 May 2000-23 Mar 2004 | Kenya Football Federation | Completes term | ||
| Mike Boit[16] | 24 Mar 2004-26 Jun 2004 | Stakeholder Transition Committee (STC) | Appointed chair by Minister of Sports Najib Balala | |
| 9 Jul 2004[17] -29 Dec 2004 | Appointed chair by FIFA | |||
| 29 Dec 2004-27 Aug 2005 | Football Kenya Federation | Elected. Ousted by coup | ||
| 27 Aug 2005-13 Jan 2006 | Kenya Football Federation | Appointed acting chair by Naivasha SGM | ||
| 14 Jan 2006[18] [19] -3 Nov 2006 | Kenya Football Federation | Reign ended by Minister for Sports, Maina Kamanda | ||
| 3 Nov 2006[20] -21 Nov 2006[21] | Appointed chair by Minister for Sports Maina Kamanda. High court overturned it | |||
| 21 Nov 2006-10 Aug 2007 | Football Kenya Federation | Returned to office | ||
| Mohammed Hatimy | 10 Aug 2007- 11 Oct 2011 | Football Kenya Ltd | Appointed by FKF GC in Malindi | |
| 11 Oct 2011-10 Feb 2016 | Football Kenya Federation | Elected. Full term | ||
| 10 Feb 2016[22] [23] -17 Oct 2020 | Football Kenya Federation | Elected. Full term | ||
| 17 Oct 2020[24] -11 Nov 2021[25] | Football Kenya Federation | Re-elected. Reign ended by Amb. Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed | ||
| 11 Nov 2021[26] - 16 Jun 2022[27] | FKF caretaker committee | Appointed chair by Cabinet Secretary Amb. Amina Mohammed | ||
| General (Rtd) Maurice Oyugi | 17 Jun 2022[28] -15 Aug 2022[29] | FKF Transition committee | Appointed chair by Cabinet Secretary Amb. Amina Mohammed | |
| 9 Sep 2022[30] [31] - current | Football Kenya Federation | Incumbent |