The football administrator made the claims after the FA lost its key sponsor for the top-tier and the lower league
Kakamega Homeboyz’s Cleophas Shimanyula has claimed he warned club chairmen against electing Football Kenya Federation Premier League president Nick Mwendwa.
Shimanyula said his warnings “fell on deaf ears” on the matter of the BetKing sponsorship. The betting firm terminated a five-year contract with the federation even before the first season of their partnership with FKF ended.
The sponsorship saw BetKing provide financial resources not only for the top-tier sides but also for Division One teams that had faced tough challenges after SportPesa’s exit.
What has been said
“I warned these teams of Mwendwa, but they almost lynched me, they played deaf,” Shimanyula told Goal. “The delegates of almost all clubs became mad at me for pointing out what I did. I also wanted to take Mwendwa to court, but the chairmen signed affidavits against my move, and that meant I did not have the necessary strength to pursue justice.
“They now must feed on what they created. Let them feed until they are full so that when I warn them of something in the future, they will take their time to find out whether I am saying the truth or not. They should have listened to me in the first place and some even thought that I was a madman, but I have been vindicated now.
“These chairmen warned me against opposing Mwendwa and some even claimed that my team was going to be banned. Football is headed south. I can tell you that without fear.”
During the last FKF electioneering period, Shimanyula was among the most vocal voices that opposed Mwendwa’s presidential candidature, although the FA chief was overwhelmingly re-elected for a four-year term.
Recently, Mwendwa has found himself at loggerheads with key football stakeholders, especially Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards, who saw their points tally reduced by three, fined a combined Ksh10 million and had their chairmen suspended for skipping a Premier League fixture.
The squabbles within the football fraternity are ongoing as the Premier League is scheduled to end on August 22. Tusker, who will represent Kenya in the Caf Champions League – are engaged in a tight title race with KCB, who failed to go top on Sunday after drawing 0-0 against Gor Mahia.
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