FKF boss a target of extortion as going gets tough
Football Kenya Federation president Nick Mwendwa is increasingly fighting off extortion attempts, with some of the masterminds resorting to blackmail and slander.
Nairobi News can reveal that the youthful football administrator has been a key target of extortion by several ‘stakeholders’ of the beautiful game, including coaches, grassroots officials, security agencies, supporters and even bloggers.
Some are said to be keen on winning tenders while others, like coaches, want employment.
In one particular case, a security official who initially worked for the FKF boss during the ‘Team Change’ election campaigns in early 2016 has now seemingly turned against his former boss.
The fallout has led the man penning damaging and unsubstantiated social media posts against Mwendwa.
The FKF boss has not been helped by recent set-backs in his tenure, including below par performances by the national football team and the failure to host the 2018 Africa Nations Championship (Chan).
“Not everybody attacking Mwendwa on social media is genuine. Some are just fuelling the fires. It is some sort of tactic to turn the president against the fans and possibly instigate him being kicked out of office. That won’t happen,” a top federation official who spoke off the record explained.
Nairobi News has in its possession documentary evidence to justify this claim.
Others with a bone to pick with Mwendwa including fans hoping to get tenders from within the federation plus coaches expecting employment.