By Kariuki Mwangi
Cricket Kenya Chairman Manoj Patel has been put on notice to either put the federation in order or exit, barely one and a half years since he was elected the national chairman.
Officials of Cricket Kenya county associations have accused the National chairman Manoj of malpractices, evading accountability to the Cricket Kenya Council and poor running of the federation as a private property without involving the other members of the board.
During a meeting that brought together chairpersons of county associations from across the country, the CK chairman was faulted for failing to involve other members of the Cricket Kenya national executive in decision making noting that Manoj has entered into more than six partnership contracts on behalf of Cricket Kenya without involving the board and the Cricket Kenya Council.
Abraham Lugada, the chairman of the Vihiga County Cricket Association said that Manoj had resorted to running the national office as his personal property making unilateral decisions while failing to put in place an environment that will ensure the development of the sport at the counties.
While addressing the meeting, Cricket Kenya counties representative Kennedy Obuya, who is also a former Kiambu County Cricket Association chairman, sought to distance himself from the current ongoings at Cricket Kenya. Obuya said that since they were elected in February 2022, the board has only held one meeting while the chairman continues to run a one man show at Cricket Kenya, only working with the treasurer.
“As the counties representative, I thought it wise to have this forum so that the county administrators can air out their problems and then I can present them to the next board meeting, which I don’t even know when it will be held,” Obuya said.
In the area of accountability, the meeting blasted Manoj participants accusing him of malpractices among them signing contracts which none of the cricket Kenya stakeholders are privy to the details.
“No one knows what goes on at Cricket Kenya. The chairman signs contracts, withdraws money from accounts and no oversight is done,” Obuya said.
The county chairmen resolved to write to the chairman demanding for a special meeting to iron out issues and allow the counties to finally hold their elections as well as have resources sent to the county associations from the national office.
Under the leadership of Manoj, Cricket Kenya appointed a Chief Executive Officer and the Development Director without involving the Cricket Kenya Council. Further, the Development Director, who is an employee of the association, sits in the board a move the counties termed an irregularity abetted by Manoj.
“How can an employee sit in the board, make decisions and then move on to implement them? That will lead to conflict of interests but because these decisions are made by the chairman alone and no board meetings are convened, as the counties representative, I cannot call out the wrongs,” Obuya posed.
“The chairman in collaboration with the treasurer has signed six contracts, all which, none of the other board members are privy to the details. It is a two man show. There is no accountability, no consultation, no minutes, nothing and I want to say here today that I am not party to cricket Kenya board decisions which I can assure you are all wrong and I don’t think the chairman is steering the federation in the right way,” Obuya said.
Former Cricket Kenya CEO and veteran Kenya cricket captain Tom Tikolo said that over the years since 2005, the federation has been failing because there are people who feel entitled to be in the leadership. He called out on the Cricket Kenya board to put the house in order or move out of office.
Mombasa Cricket Association Secretary Dhiru Halai said that it was time CK put its house in order and recognise that the importance of the council. “We need to develop cricket in all areas of the country but Cricket Kenya National office is not doing anything to support the counties. They need to do more,” Halai said.
The counties selected a five member panel that drafted a letter signed by all county officials to be sent to Manoj and the CK secretariat for an urgent meeting which they said was under a 21 days ultimatum failure to which, the counties would sit again and chat the way forward.
