The president of the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Nick Mwendwa, has been acquitted of corruption charges by a magistrate’s court on Wednesday.
The court ruled that the charges, which accused Mwendwa of misappropriating Sh38 million ($337,000) meant for the development of Kenyan football, were “unfounded and unconstitutional.”
Kiambu senior principal magistrate Wilson Rading stated that the charges had grossly threatened the fair trial of the accused.
Mwendwa was first arrested in November 2021 after the Kenyan government dissolved the FKF and set up a caretaker committee to oversee the sport’s management due to alleged financial impropriety during Mwendwa’s tenure.
FIFA had suspended Kenya following the government’s interference in the running of the sport.
Although the charges were dropped on July 6 after the state failed to provide any evidence, Mwendwa was re-arrested a day later when prosecutors claimed that fresh evidence had surfaced.
However, the court found that Mwendwa should not be arrested and charged based on the findings of that probe.
With FIFA lifting its ban on FKF, Mwendwa is now cleared to resume his role as president.
