MERU. Football Kenya Federation’s congress has resolved to expel vice president McDonald Mariga and six executive members, escalating a dispute rooted in allegations over Chan insurance expenditure.
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has announced the expulsion of vice president McDonald Mariga and six National Executive Committee members following Saturday’s Special General Meeting in Meru.
The November 7 decision marks a dramatic escalation in the leadership struggle between federation president Hussein Mohammed and his former running mate.
In its statement, FKF said the General Assembly considered allegations of “serious and repeated violations” of its constitution and applicable Fifa regulations.
Alongside Mariga, those expelled are Robert Kenneth Macharia, Bernard Korir Lagat, Violet Kerubo Momanyi, Collins Opiyo Kalee, Gabriel Mghendi and Daniel Akala Shikanda.
They represented Central, Upper Rift Valley, women, Nyanza, Coast and Nairobi respectively within the federation’s executive.
The charges included an April 24 resolution seeking the removal of Mohammed and other officials, repeated absence from duly convened meetings and unauthorised communications.
FKF said the assembly exercised its mandate under Articles 16 and 24 of its constitution, covering membership expulsion and dismissal of executive officials.
According to the federation, representatives of Fifa, Caf and Kenya’s State Department for Sports attended, alongside Acting Sports Registrar Chao J. Maroa.
The statement did not disclose voting figures or detail how the resulting vacancies would be filled.
From election partners to opposing camps
Mohammed and Mariga entered office together in December 2024, with the former Kenyan international serving as deputy following Mohammed’s election victory. Their partnership promised a fresh start for Kenyan football.
However, the relationship fractured publicly on April 24, 2026, when a Mariga-led faction sought to suspend Mohammed, acting general secretary Dennis Gicheru and nominated executive member Abdullahi Yussuf Ibrahim.
The dispute centred on alleged irregularities involving KSh42.48 million in insurance expenditure for the delayed 2024 African Nations Championship, staged in August 2025.
The faction named Mariga acting president and demanded investigations into the federation’s finances.
Mohammed denied wrongdoing, saying Caf procured the tournament’s insurance and maintaining that FKF had not paid an insurance company for the competition.
He also rejected the attempted suspension, arguing that the meeting which passed the resolutions had not been constitutionally convened.
The Sports Disputes Tribunal subsequently blocked implementation of the resolutions, including the proposed leadership changes and freezing of federation accounts.
Fifa also rejected the suspensions on procedural grounds. Those interventions concerned the validity of the removal process, rather than establishing whether the underlying financial allegations were true.
Meetings become the battleground
The confrontation continued through rival meetings and disagreements over the executive committee’s authority.
Two members who initially supported the April action, Caleb Amwayi and Peter Kamau, subsequently moved to Mohammed’s side, leaving the 14-member executive evenly divided.
Meetings called by the federation’s leadership struggled to secure a quorum as the opposing camp stayed away.
On November 2, Fifa intervened again, stopping a separate executive meeting Mariga had scheduled for November 4 because it had not been properly convened.
Saturday’s gathering also began amid tension, with police using teargas outside the Meru venue as officers sought to secure access for delegates.
The expulsions carry wider regional significance as Kenya prepares to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations alongside Uganda and Tanzania. Prolonged administrative divisions add uncertainty to that shared assignment.
FKF says it will announce implementation measures and administrative arrangements later, its immediate task is to restore a functioning executive after months of confrontation.