Tension rises in Meru as FKF rebels face possible ouster at SGM

Tension is mounting in Meru ahead of Saturday’s Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Special General Meeting (SGM), with hundreds of youths reported to have gathered at the Three Steers Hotel, the venue of the crucial football meeting on Saturday, November 7, 2026.

The situation took a tense turn on Saturday morning after Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU) police officers arrived at the hotel and reportedly ordered the youths to leave the premises, hours after an FKF’s National Executive Committee member was assaulted on Friday, November 6, 2026.

The developments have added to an already charged atmosphere ahead of the 9am meeting, which could have far-reaching consequences for the leadership of Kenyan football.

The SGM has been convened to deliberate on the conduct of members of FKF’s National Executive Committee (NEC), particularly seven officials who have been at the centre of the federation’s prolonged leadership dispute.

They are FKF Deputy President McDonald Mariga, Women’s Representative Kerubo Momanyi, Nairobi NEC member Dan Shikanda, Coast representative Gabriel Mghendi, Nyanza representative Collins Opiyo Kalee, Central representative Robert Macharia and Upper Rift Valley representative Bernard Lagat.

The seven could now be fighting for their political survival within the federation, with the General Assembly empowered under the FKF Constitution to dismiss members of the NEC.

The meeting follows months of bitter disagreement between FKF President Hussein Mohammed and his deputy Mariga, which has split the federation’s top decision-making organ into rival camps.

The dispute intensified on April 24, 2026, when a faction of NEC members passed resolutions seeking to suspend Mohammed, Acting General Secretary Dennis Gicheru and nominated NEC member Abdullahi Yusuf Ibrahim over allegations surrounding a Ksh42.48 million insurance transaction linked to the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN).

Mariga was subsequently installed by the faction as acting president.

However, the attempted leadership change was challenged through the Sports Disputes Tribunal, which issued orders blocking the implementation of the April 24 resolutions. FIFA later also rejected the suspensions, saying they had not been carried out in accordance with the FKF Constitution.

The battle has since moved from the NEC to the General Assembly, with delegates now being asked to determine whether the conduct of the officials involved warrants disciplinary action.

According to the notice issued by FKF, the SGM will specifically deliberate on the resolutions made by NEC members on April 24, their implications for the federation’s operations and the conduct of the officials involved.

The stakes are particularly high because a two-thirds majority of delegates present is required to remove NEC members. With 91 delegates expected at the meeting, that threshold would be 61 votes if all 91 attend and vote.

A successful vote against the seven would trigger a process to replace them. The FKF Constitution provides for another General Assembly to be convened within 60 days to elect replacements to serve the remainder of their term.

That makes Saturday’s gathering more than another episode in the long-running Hussein-Mariga power struggle.

It could fundamentally alter the balance of power inside Kandanda House.

The pressure on the Mariga camp has increased in recent days after FIFA blocked a separate NEC meeting planned for November 4 by a faction led by the FKF deputy president.

FIFA questioned the constitutional validity of the process used to convene that meeting, noting that two people who had initially supported the request had subsequently withdrawn their backing. The world governing body consequently asked FKF not to proceed with the disputed NEC meeting.

The latest developments have left the federation facing an extraordinary governance crisis just months before Kenya co-hosts the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Uganda and Tanzania.

The dispute has already been blamed for disrupting the functioning of the federation, with FIFA warning in October 2026 about the growing number of football disputes being taken to ordinary courts and the impact of the wrangles on Kenyan football.

Saturday’s SGM is therefore emerging as a decisive moment.

For Mariga and the six NEC members facing scrutiny, the immediate task is to convince delegates that their actions were justified and did not amount to conduct warranting removal.

For the wider FKF membership, the meeting offers an opportunity to determine whether the federation can finally move beyond months of infighting and restore stability.

But with police already moving to control activity around the venue and rival camps watching the proceedings closely, Meru could become the latest battleground in a leadership contest that has shaken the administration of Kenyan football.

The biggest question now is whether the FKF rebels will survive the vote, or leave Three Steers Hotel facing the end of their tenure in the federation.

Before you go… how about joining our vibrant Telegram and WhatsApp channels for hotter stories?