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Gor Mahia’s Rachier and AFC Leopards’ Shikanda summoned over FKF suspension
The two officials have been summoned by the disciplinary committee after they were handed a two week ban
Football Kenya Federation has officially filed formal complaints to have further action taken against Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards chairmen Ambrose Rachier and Dan Shikanda.
The two officials were handed provisional bans of two weeks each after their teams failed to show up for the Mashemeji derby at Thika Stadium on Saturday.
On banning the two, FKF President Nick Mwendwa revealed they will have to appear before the federation’s disciplinary committee for further grilling and subsequent punishment.
Goal has obtained the two letters sent to both Rachier and Shikanda from the Independent Dispute and Arbitration Committee formally giving the officials seven days to respond to the complaint, to which the committee will proceed to consider the complaint and revert with its decision.
What does the letter from IDAC say?
In the letter to both Rachier and Shikanda dated August 3, 2021, it stated: “The Football Kenya Federation has filed a formal complaint against you, a copy whereof is attached together with the annexures.
“You are hereby required within seven [7] days of service to respond to the complaint by way of a witness[es]statement[s] or an affidavit[s] together with any submission that you wish to make by sending the same to the committee by way of email to idac@fkfpl.com.
“A hard copy thereof can also be deposited at the FKF headquarters in a sealed envelope addressed to the chairperson, FKF-PL IDAC.
“Note that should you fail to respond within the given time, the committee shall proceed to consider the complaint and revert with its decision.”
Rachier and Shikanda dismiss FKF ban
Both Rachier and Shikanda have since dismissed the decision to suspend them with the long-serving Gor Mahia boss terming the ban and fine imposed on the two clubs as “trash.”
“You cannot make a ruling without giving someone an opportunity to be heard, even natural justice advocates for such,” Rachier told Goal.
“The chairmen had to be given an opportunity to be heard. How do you suspend somebody without framing a charge? Where are the provisions of those fines and how were they arrived at? Or is it people who are trying to conjure up Ksh 10 million? What is the basis of those fines? And do you fine somebody who you have not tried, whom you have not found guilty?
“There is a disciplinary committee that is supposed to deal with us and it is at that time when we should know what the claims are. You cannot sentence without a hearing, it is a known process. Fining somebody is a kind of punishment. But without a hearing? That is the kind of trash that somebody could be talking about and says he is talking law.”
On his part, Shikanda told Goal: “What powers does Nick [Mwendwa] have to suspend me? Which member number is he at AFC Leopards? Nothing will change and his suspension has no consequences, I will continue to discharge my duties as AFC Leopards chairman.
“That suspension will not affect my work at AFC Leopards, even if he suspends me for 100 years [forget about the two weeks], it will have no effect on my work at AFC, that is a joke.
“What article did he invoke to suspend me? He is daydreaming, we shall respond to him accordingly, no problem.”
The two clubs were also fined a total amount of Ksh10 million – AFC Leopards Ksh6 million for being the home team and Gor Mahia Ksh4 million for being the away team – and on top of that, they had been deducted three points each.
