The International Olympic Committee has called on National Olympic Committee of Kenya to explain the continued delays in holding the eagerly-awaited elections.
The IOC, in a statement, told the NOC president Kipchoge Keino and secretary general FK Paul, to clarify the reasons why issues about the membership of the local association were suddenly raised through a verification process by the Ministry/Sports Registrar.
The IOC sought: “Who has an interest in constantly delaying the completion of the NOC election process? Why did the “Taekwondo Federation” initiate a recourse before the High Court when a satisfactory and fair solution was agreed upon between all concerned parties and clearly communicated by the Electoral Board in its letter dated 4 May 2017?
The international body also sought to know what concrete actions have been taken by the NOC to re-mediate the situation, as required in the IOC’s letter dated May 18, 2017.
“As things stand, and given that the case initiated by the “Taekwondo Federation” is still ongoing despite our self-explanatory letter dated May 18, 2017, we can only hope and wait for a prompt decision from the High Court in order for the Elective General Assembly to resume accordingly and, hopefully, conclude as soon as possible,” added the letter signed by IOC Deputy Director General Pere Miro.
Miro went on: “In the meantime, as there is obviously no progress in this situation, there is no reason why the IOC should re-consider its decision to withhold its payments and subsidies to your NOC.”
“This decision was taken not only because of the current situation, but also due to the fact that a significant number of Olympic Solidarity programmes/funding allocated to your NOC have yet to be justified in accordance with the Olympic Solidarity standards and requirements.”
“Lastly, we formally reject your groundless allegations against the IOC officials who have spared no effort (for almost one year now) to facilitate and ensure the smooth and peaceful implementation of the road-map agreed upon between all parties. Unfortunately, these allegations look like another attempt to avoid addressing the real issues.
Kenya now awaits a decision by the IOC Executive Board on July 9 and 10, which will reserve the right to take any further action in accordance with the Olympic Charter.