By Mark Baber
March 16 – The attempt by the Kenyan Football Federation (FKF) to put an end to the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) by taking matters to the civil courts was defeated comprehensively in the Kenyan High Court this morning as the Judge ruled the FKF does not have the capacity to sue.
Today’s victory for the KPL follows Friday’s ruling which lifted the threat of imprisonment for contempt of court hanging over KPL officials as they battled against FKF chief Sam Nyamweya’s attempts to increase the KPL to 18 teams, motivated according to a FIFA task force investigating the matter, by his desire to favour a team from his home area.
The ruling means that the FKF case is defective, the court injunction against KPL dismissed, the KPL should now be able to resume playing immediately. Currently both parties must bear their own costs but the KPL may petition for the FKF to pay the costs of both parties.
The FKF attempt to take matters to court, in breach of its own and FIFA’s statutes, fell apart at the first hurdle as KPL solicitors effectively argued that, as a body registered under the Societies Act Cap 108 of Kenya, the body lacked the capacity to institute a suit, not being a legal person in its own right – but an amalgamation of persons.
In addition, the lawyers argued that the belated attempt of the FKF to enjoin their president to the suit was invalid due to the principle of “ex nihilio nilil fit” (“out of nothing comes nothing.”)
The Judge also emphasized in her ruling that the FKF’s resort to the courts was in violation of Article 67 of the FKF Constitution. With Nyamweya determined that his “FKF Premier League,” comprised of teams from the second tier of Kenyan football, should be regarded as the top tier, the judge noted that the issue of parallel leagues was an issue for FIFA rather than the court.
The resolution of the case still leaves a number of unanswered issues including why FIFA’s Ethics Committee has so far failed to act on the matter central to the whole dispute, according to the task force set up to solve the problem, of the FKF President’s favouritism towards a team from his own area.
With media giant MP & Silva reportedly providing financial incentives to the FKF in its attempt to set up its own league, the unfortunate prospect now looms of Kenya being threatened with suspension from international football by FIFA over the issue of parallel leagues.
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