The International Olympic Committee has recently maintained its hard stance on the freezing of National Olympic Committee of Kenya’s accounts and the issues surrounding delay of elections.
In a letter to the IOC dated June 6, NOCK made a passionate appeal to the top Olympics body to loosen the knots because it faced financial constraints thus unable to fulfil basic obligations like payment of rent and salaries.
Since August 2016, NOCK’s account has been frozen by IOC due to the squabbles that arose due to the purported mismanagement of Team Kenya during the 2016 Rio Olympics Games.
IOC has seen no sufficient reason to reverse the decision.
“In the meantime, as there is obviously no progress in this situation, there is no reason why the IOC should reconsider its decision (confirmed by the IOC Executive Board at its meeting on 16 March 2017) to withhold its payments and subsidies to your NOC.”
As you know, this decision was taken not only because of the current situation, but also due to the fact that a significant number of Olympic Solidarity programmes funding allocated to your NOC have yet to be justified in accordance with the Olympic Solidarity standards and requirements,” the letter by IOC Deputy Director General Pere Miro reads.
High Court order
The IOC further recognises that the sole reason why the elections have been put on halt is due to the High Court order which was filed by Kenya TaeKwonDo Federation in May.
Additionally, it wants NOCK to explain what action it has taken to remedy the situation.
A comprehensive update on NOCK situation is set to be given during the next IOC Executive Board meeting on 9-10 July 2017.
The IOC has the mandate and the right to take any further action should it see fit as provided by the Olympic Charter. This could spell doom for NOCK if its house is still not in order.
Meanwhile, the prospect of elections has been dragged further after the High Court on Wednesday pushed the case to July 31. This new directive has arisen due to emergence of new disputes by those opposing and those in support of the court orders filed by KTF officials.
Essentially, the new court hearing will take place three weeks after the IOC Executive Board meeting and despite IOC’s respect for the court process, resolving matters of elections is imperative to avoid sanctions.
