Barry Otieno, the chief executive of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF), resigned unexpectedly on Friday, leaving the organisation at a crucial time for Harambee Stars‘ bid for the AFCON 2025 Games in Morocco.
Mr Otieno’s exit is believed to be due to pressure from the fast-approaching FKF Presidential Elections, in which he is said to be a contestant, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who asked to remain anonymous because the details were confidential.
“It is true he handed in his resignation last week. But we do not know what his next step is,” they said, without directly mentioning the reason.
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Mr Otieno, who was previously FKF’s Head of Communications and PR, had been in charge since July 2019, when he held the title of interim CEO. He shed the interim tag merely one month later.
When contacted following his resignation rumours after failing to attend a special meeting convened last weekend by the current FKF President Nick Mwendwa, who is seeking to retain his seat in the upcoming polls, he said yesterday in a statement: “The position has been very demanding for me, and so I have time off at this time. Personally, I have not thought about contesting, though there are many demands on me to throw my weight in the ring. Nothing has been decided yet, and so we shall see what happens.”
Under his watch, at least towards the end of his tenure, the Kenya national football team is performing well at the Africa Cup of Nations Qualification and has won a game against Namibia and drew 0-0 with Zimbabwe to lead in Group J.
Until today, FKF has not named his replacement as the election nears on November 9 and December 7 for final voting.
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