Nick Mwendwa
Nicholas Kithuku Mwendwa | |
|---|---|
| 2nd President of FKF | |
| In office 10 February 2016 – to date | |
| Preceded by | Sam Nyamweya |
| FKF TMS Manager | |
| In office 2011–2014 | |
| Chairman, FKF Premier League | |
| In office 2015–2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Nicholas Kithuku Mwendwa 29 December 1979 Makueni County, Kenya |
| Residence(s) | Nairobi, Kenya |
Nicholas Nick Kithuku Mwendwa (born 29 December 1979) is a Kenyan businessman, Techprenuer, founder of Kenyan Premier League side Kariobangi Sharks, and the current president of Football Kenya Federation.[1][2]
Early life, education & professional career
[edit]Mwendwa was born in Makueni County on 29 December 1979. He went to Makindu 'A' primary school then joined Kiserian Junior Seminary and Thomeandu Secondary School for his secondary education, after which he attended the Kenya College of Accountancy in 1997 from where he graduated with a Diploma in IT.[3] He later pursued and completed a Bachelor of Science Business in Management/Leadership from Bottega University in February 2023.
After completing his IT course, Mwendwa was among a young set of IT professionals hired to deploy robust retail payment solutions at Uchumi's chain of supermarkets. He then founded innovative payment and channel solutions firm Riverbank Solutions in 2009, before forming online shopping platform Swiggo Ltd in 2019, content hub Sweeton Limited in 2021, and DeFi platform Swerri, Zed Payments Ltd, a payments cloud service helping businesses to set up and accept mobile payments, all in 2022, among other businesses.[4]
Football career
[edit]In the year 2000, Nick formed a football team in the precincts of Kariobangi and aptly named it Kariobangi Sharks. In 2011 he tried his hand in football politics where he unsuccessfully contested the Nairobi National Executive Committee (NEC) seat[5] during an all-inclusive Kenyan football election. The same year he was named the FIFA Transfer Matching System (TMS) manager at the Federation, a post he served till the year 2014.
In 2015 he was named the chairman of FKF Premier League.[6] It is while holding that capacity that he announced[7] he would vie for the FKF Presidency during the upcoming elections.[8]
FKF presidency
[edit]Under Team Change wave, Mwendwa was elected as President of FKF on 10 February 2016[9][10] in his first stab at the top seat after garnering 50 out of the possible 77 votes in Kasarani to take over the reins from Sam Nyamweya.[11] In regards to Football elections in Kenya, Mwendwa became the 14th elected football boss since Independence.
He retained his seat[12] in the next election held on 17 October 2020 after polling 77 of the possible 85 votes.[13][14]
In being FKF President, he has had to deal with critics who have always pointed out a conflict of interest as he always maintained an association with his club Kariobangi Sharks.[15]
In November 2021 he was arrested[16][17] on a few occasions[18][19] for alleged misappropriation of funds soon after the Kenyan Government disbanded the Federation following an audit report. He was later arraigned and charged in court[20] over the same. With the case on, he opted to step down[21] and hand over his roles as the FKF President to his deputy Doris Petra.[22]
He announced his return as FKF President on 9 September 2022,[23][24][25] and re-opened the FKF offices on 20 September 2022.[26] He was cleared [27][28] to fully resume his presidential duties at FKF on 29 March 2023 after charges preferred against him were dismissed.[29][30] The case against him was termed defective, unlawful, unconstitutional, and an abuse of the court process.[31]
FIFA council interest
[edit]In September 2018, Mwendwa threw his hat in the ring for a FIFA Council seat[32][33] alongside four other candidates from Confederation of African Football countries. He later stepped down due to what he termed was influenced by "politics on the floor."[34]
Days after his re-election in Oct 2020, Mwendwa yet again declared interest in vying for the same seat[35][36][37] but once again backed down prior to the election held in March 2022.[38][39]
References
[edit]- ^ BBC, 10 Feb 2016 Nick Mwendwa elected as Kenya federation president
- ^ Nation, 17 Oct 2020 Nick Mwendwa retains FKF President seat
- ^ WOK, 29 Jul 2021 Nick Mwendwa Bio
- ^ Standard, 15 Feb 2016 Will new FKF boss breathe life into Kenyan football?
- ^ Michezo Afrika, 4 Aug 2011 IEB releases list of football election candidates
- ^ Nation, 12 Feb 2016 Nick Mwendwa's meteoric rise to the top
- ^ Michezo Afrika, 3 June 2015 Mwendwa eyes FKF's top seat
- ^ Soka25east, 2 Sep 2025 FKF President Front Runner Nick Mwendwa launches Harambee Stars fans promotion ahead of Zambia
- ^ Standard, 10 Feb 2016
- ^ Nation, 10 Feb 2016 Nick Mwendwa elected FKF boss
- ^ Africa News, 10 Feb 2016 Kenya elects new football chief as former boss Nyamweya withdraws from polls
- ^ Goal, 17 Oct 2020 FKF Elections: Mwendwa floors challengers to retain seat
- ^ CAFOnline, 19 Oct 2020 Mwendwa re-elected as Football Kenya Federation president
- ^ Law in Sport, 19 Oct 2020 Mwendwa Re-Elected As Football Kenya Federation President
- ^ Goal, 30 Jul 2021 Mwendwa dismisses critics over perceived FKF-Kariobangi Sharks conflict of interest
- ^ The East African, 12 Nov 2021 Police arrest Kenyan football boss Nick Mwendwa
- ^ BBC, 12 Nov 2021 Kenya football boss Nick Mwendwa arrested as crisis deepens
- ^ Business Daily, 26 Nov 2021 Kenya football boss Nick Mwendwa arrested, again
- ^ The-Star, 7 Jul 2022 Nick Mwendwa rearrested, taken to DCI
- ^ beinsports, 15 Nov 2021 Kenya's suspended football boss in court
- ^ Business Daily, 30 Nov 2021 Nick Mwendwa steps down as FKF president
- ^ Standard, 30 Nov 2021 FKF President Nick Mwendwa finally quits
- ^ Nation, 9 Sep 2022 'I'm back!' Nick Mwendwa notifies Fifa
- ^ Citizen, 9 Sep 2022 Nick Mwendwa Back In Charge As FKF Boss
- ^ The-Star, 9 Sep 2022 Nick Mwendwa announces return as FKF president
- ^ Standard, 20 Sep 2022 Nick Mwendwa opens FKF offices, resumes duties after 11 months
- ^ Inside World Football, 3 Apr 2023 Kenyan court clears former FA president Mwenda of embezzlement
- ^ SuperSport, 29 Mar 2023 Kenya's ex-football boss cleared of corruption charges
- ^ Standard, 29 Mar 2023 Court dismisses Sh38 million theft case against FKF President Nick Mwendwa
- ^ Citizen Digital, 29 Mar 2023 FKF boss Mwendwa cleared of corruption charges
- ^ Nation, 29 Mar 2023 Court dismisses Sh38m theft case against FKF boss Nick Mwendwa
- ^ Citizen Digital, 28 Sep 2018 Mwendwa In Cairo With Eyes On FIFA Council Seat
- ^ Nation, 29 Sep 2018 Nick Mwendwa gleefully eyes Fifa position
- ^ Nation, 30 Sep 2018 Malawian FA boss clinches FIfa seat as Mwendwa withdraws
- ^ Nation, 22 Oct 2020 Nick Mwendwa: Why I want to join the Fifa Council
- ^ Citizen Digital, 23 Nov 2020 FKF boss Mwendwa in race for FIFA Council seat
- ^ The-Star, 29 Jan 2021 Mwendwa given green-light to contest Fifa position
- ^ Standard, 12 Mar 2021 Nick Mwendwa withdraws from FIFA Council elections
- ^ Goal, 12 Mar 2021 FKF’s Mwendwa withdraws from Fifa Council race in Morocco elections