Cricket Kenya releases, then recalls its draft constitution
Divisions within Cricket Kenya (CK) came to the fore once again yesterday when the association released its proposed draft constitution in the afternoon before recalling it in the evening.
Recall came hours after mixed reactions greeted its release following months of lobbying.
The 34-page draft had been seen as a win-win situation for stakeholders in the game that has been bedeviled with endless wrangles for a number of years.
The constitutional process was as a result of an attempt by former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa to intervene in the feuding sides who in 2018 disagreed on the status of the CK constitution and the fact that the association, under lawyer Jackie Janmohamed, had failed to comply with the Sports Act 2013.
Some of the new proposals that had been included were to have more women voices and the creation of a unitary Development Director in Charge of Counties, replacing the former Provinces Development Managers.
The draft had been undertaken to create a position of Director of Women’s Cricket in the newly-proposed Executive Board and also a sub-committee specifically dealing with women’s cricket which analysts believe is a big score for the near forgotten lot.
Treasurer of the Interim Committee that facilitated the draft Kennedy Obuya had backed the draft before its recalling.
“I believe with this draft, it is a new dawn in the making and we should start work.
I know there could be gaps but largely, it is a progressive document even though such a process can sometimes be complex and divisive,” Obuya told People Sport yesterday.
Proposal is good
Another idea that had earned the backing from some key stakeholders in the sport was the proposal that at least 30 per cent of International Cricket Council funds and from other donors be taken to full members of the association.
“We want to see clubs especially involved and so the 30 percent proposal is good. We also agree with one vote being handled by a delegate selected from the associations. Some of these issues were raised in the previous meetings and therefore we only await the modalities to be used,” Coast Cricket Association Secretary General Dhiru Halai said.
However, former CK treasurer Ravi Kaul poured cold water on the enlarged committees.
“There needs to be at least five and not the 11 being mentioned. Committees must be beneficial to the sport,” he argued even as he pointed out that the three positions of gender minority proposed for nominations to the Executive Board with full rights were needless and waste of resources.”
Former men’s national team assistant coach and Kenyan international Peter Ong’ondo suggested the drafters of the document wanted to avoid blame by creating so many positions to silence ‘noisemakers’.
“It is obvious that the pressure from ICC was telling and so we had to work smart. However, it is not of benefit to just impress people who would otherwise lose elections to be given safe landing slots. We need a solid structure that will curb inefficiencies,” Ong’ondo.
Ignore email
However, in an email sent to newsrooms last evening, CK recalled the document, saying: “I refer to the below email which was erroneously sent out earlier today (yesterday). Kindly ignore the said email together with the attachment (draft). The correct communication on this subject will be sent out in due course.”
It is not clear why CK recalled the document but it is an indication that the issues the constitution sought to address are still far from over.
