Football Kenya Federation (FKF) head of communication and marketing Barry Otieno yesterday said he has what it takes to spearhead his department and the office of the Chief Executive Officer.
Otieno was yesterday elevated to the rank of acting CEO following the decision by Robert Muthomi to step aside to allow investigations into his involvement in an underhand player transfer deal. The federation president Nick Mwensa said Otieno will fill the void left by Muthomi as they await the verdict of the FKF Disciplinary Committee.
Muthomi was last week accused of allegedly using his office to aid Sofapaka forward John Avire to seal a move to Egypt without the blessings of the club who raised a complaint after reading mischief.
The aborted deal generated fury from football stakeholders who demanded the immediate sacking of Muthomi, prompting him to step aside for the federation to kick off their investigations. With the deputy CEO position vacant after the resignation of Herbert Mwachiro last year, the federation picked Otieno to oversee the functions of the secretary-general.
“We have accepted the request from Muthomi to step down following the allegations labelled against him. In the meantime, we have decided to have Otieno take over his roles as we wait for the ruling from the disciplinary committee. He has the full mandate as agreed in our emergency meeting held over the weekend and we expect business to run as usual,” said Mwendwa.
Otieno joined the football governing body in 2016 as a communications manager and was later promoted to head the Communications and marketing department in 2018.
“I am ready for the new task bestowed on me and I am looking forward to co-operating with the rest and have our operations run smoothly. I am ready to serve in both offices as we wait for the outcome of the investigations.”
