The government has made the bold step to take harsh action against wayward federations whose operations violate the Sports Act 2013.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba made it explicit earlier this year that authorities are working feverishly to clean up the mess in beleaguered federations.
His remarks came during a meeting between the Ministry of Sports and 113 associations in Nairobi on January 30.
The Sports Act 2013 stipulates all the pertinent laws that local sports federations ought to adhere to if they expect to be ratified as legal entities.
The Act sets out, among others, the term limits of office bearers.
In one of his speeches, Namwamba criticised defiant federation officials who had served out their terms but were unwilling to step down.
The CS emphasised the importance of federation chiefs adhering to their term limitations to promote integrity.
The country has also experienced cases in which federations openly violate the law while hoping to receive protection from their global umbrella bodies.
Fortunately, the government has pledged to work closely with international governing bodies to streamline the activities of local federations that operate illegally.
This is in response to a concerning trend in which some local federations have acted mischievously while taking cover behind umbrella organisations.
Undoubtedly, the act of cleaning up federations has earnestly begun with the government following through on its warning after some officials called the bluff.
A handful of local sports administrators who ignored the warning are already in hot soup.
In recent years, some of the federations have faced the government's wrath, including the Football Kenya Federation and the Kenya Swimming Federation, although their situations have all been resolved.
We cannot allow federations to thrive in chaos. Unscrupulous sports administrators have always advanced the argument that the nation may be subjected to embargoes from international governing bodies if the government cracks the whip.
We applaud the government's tough stance, stating that if necessary, the nation is willing to bite the bullet just to put things right.
The Ministry of Sports should not think twice about putting to task all local governing bodies that fail to adhere to the correct protocols.
Never should we allow a group of egocentric individuals to hold the nation hostage.
Kenya is greater than any one person, and the future of our sportsmen should not be jeopardized as people frantically seek to gratify their vested interests.
By default, every federation is required to ratify and abide by both the Constitution 2010 and the Sports Act 2013.
That is the only way we can steer the country to unprecedented heights in the competitive realm of sports.
Lastly, the government must be seen to act in good faith and there should be no perception of witch-hunting while wielding the big cane.
