Kenya’s Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT) on Tuesday issued an order temporarily suspending a declaration by the nation’s football governing body cancelling the 2019/2020 Kenyan Premier League season.
The order follows a petition filed by Chemelil Sugar Football Club and the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Limited against the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Secretariat, the FKF president Nick Mwendwa and chief executive officer Barry Otieno.
In the petition, Mwendwa and Otieno are accused of unlawfully and unprocedurally cancelling the season and interfering with the mandate of the KPL, the administrator of the nation’s top football league.
In a statement, the SDT certified the petition as urgent and directed that the order be served to the respondents within three days.
“Pending the hearing and determination of this application and/or the Petition inter partes, the purported decision of the Respondents cancelling the Kenyan Premier League 2019/2020 Season be and is hereby stayed,” the statement signed by the chairman John Ohaga read in part.
The SDT also directed parties that wish to be enjoined in the case to file their responses within seven days.
Last month, FKF President Nick Mwendwa in a series of tweets announced that the leaders of the Kenyan Premier League, Gor Mahia, and the second-tier National Super League, Nairobi City Stars, were declared champions.
Mwendwa then proceeded to cite the regulations of the federation that provided for such a decision to be made.
However, the KPL strongly protested against the move to cancel the season without looking into other possibilities which would see the season played to its conclusion.
The KPL accused FKF of selectively applying rules and interpreting communication by CAF causing a breach of its mandate.
The KPL added that a decision to end the season can only be taken into account if CAF, which has not yet completed its own club competitions, had ordered all its members to do so by a certain date.
On April 7, the KPL issued a statement suspending the 2019/2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The KPL said at the time that there was no urgency in determining the fate of the season.
