Shadrack Maluki elected NOCK President after months of intriguing campaigns

Kenya Judo Federation boss Shadrack Maluki is the new National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) president replacing Paul Tergat.

This is after he secured 15 votes, defeating the outgoing NOCK Secretary General Francis Mutuku in elections held on Monday morning at a Nairobi hotel.

Maluki, who previously served as NOCK’s first vice president, garnered 15 votes from the 27 federations represented, edging out Mutuku, who received 12 votes.

Barnaba Korir has been elected the first vice president to replace Maluki.

The Athletics Kenya youth development chair emerged victorious with 15 votes, defeating Anthony ‘Jamal’ Ombok, the Kenya Boxing Federation president, who polled 12.

Nashon Randiek of the Kenya Hockey Union won the race to be NOCK’s second after he secured 14 votes, narrowly beating outgoing treasurer Anthony Kariuki, who received 13 votes.

John Ogola was elected secretary general unopposed, while in one of the tightest races of the day, Francis Karugu edged out Olympian Humphrey Kayange by a single vote, 14 to 13, to become deputy secretary general.

Fred Chege defeated Moses Mbuthia by 14 votes to 13 to clinch the position of treasurer.

The post of assistant treasurer was filled without contest after the death of Paul Otula, leaving Charles Mose to take the seat unopposed.

In a switch of disciplines in the athlete representatives, rugby legend and outgoing male athlete representative hands over to two-time Olympic winner and marathon icon Eliud Kipchoge

On the women’s side, two-time Olympic Silver medalist Hellen Obiri has passed the baton to Rugby Lionesses’ captain, Grace Okulu.

Eliud Kipchoge and Grace Okulu will represent the Kenyan team at the NOC-K Executive Board leading to 2028.

The newly elected NOCK team is expected to steer the organization through the next Olympic cycle, with a focus on athlete development, transparency, and enhancing Kenya’s performance on the global stage.

The NOCK elections today came after two court injunctions led to the postponement in April and last month amid what was seen as a heightened campaign between the Maluki and Mutuku camps.

In April, the elections were aborted after the Taekwondo, Handball, Triathlon, and Volleyball federations failed to agree on who, between their presidents and Secretaries Generals, would vote at the elections, leading to the presidents seeking legal redress.

The matter was taken to the High Court after the Sports Disputes Tribunal dismissed the petition asking the federations to use internal mechanisms to solve their disputes.

Last month, the elections were postponed after the SDT pronounced that the Kenya Table Tennis Association Chairman Andrew Mudibo ineligible to vote after it was established that it were not duly registered as per the Sports Act 2013 and the Sports Regulations 2016.