NAIROBI, Kenya Nov 15 – Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Nick Mwendwa and other officials were arraigned Monday, but no charges were read out to them yet.
The prosecution said detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) were finalising investigations and wanted more time before the suspects can plead to charges.
They were arrested last week after Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed disbanded the federation and formed a caretaker committee chaired by retired judge Aaron Ringera to take over for six months, in what has elicited mixed reactions.
Mwendwa and other officials are under investigation for mismanagement and other irregularities at the federation.
Mwendwa was represented in court by former Law Society of Kenya presidents Eric Mutua and Tom Ojienda as well as Nelson Havi who is the current LSK boss.
Other lawyers on his panel are Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior, Vincent Omwebu and Charles Njenga.
The prosecution wants him detained for two more weeks to enable detectives complete an investigation.
“There is an entity appointed by the CS whether legal or not, which is in place to run the Federation. It is contradictory for the state to now allege that the respondent, who is not in office, cannot access the office and whose docket is under management of a third party, that if he is released will interfere with documents,” Eric Mutua, part of Mwendwa’s legal team argued.
He added; “The State cannot seek to punish Mwendwa with detention for having exercised his right to lawfully challenge the CS orders of disbanding the federation in a court of law.”
Mwendwa was later freed on a Sh4 million cash bail or Sh7 million bond pending a ruling on Wednesday on whether police can continue detaining him for two weeks to finalise investigations.
