AFC Leopards have insisted the 2019-20 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) season should be declared null and void if it will not resume.
The Kenyan top-flight was halted in March owing to the coronavirus outbreak but was later suspended indefinitely after the Kenyan government moved to impose a 21-day curfew aimed at containing the spread of the pandemic.
However, the FKF moved fast to announce they had ended the league and crowned leaders Gor Mahia as champions, and also promoted National Super League (NSL) leaders Nairobi City Stars and second-placed Bidco United.
The KPL, who protested the decision and claimed the FKF did not have the mandate to end the league, later moved to court in a joint suit with Chemelil Sugar, and on Tuesday, SDT chairman John Ohaga overruled the FKF decision until a hearing is held to determine the outcome of the matter.
While welcoming the decision taken by SDT, Ingwe President Dan Shikanda has categorically stated the league should either resume and teams play the remaining nine matches and if not, it should be declared null and void.
“The decision to end the league was decided by one person [Nick Mwendwa], without involving stakeholders or the clubs, he did not debate with anyone but he decided to make a decision on his own which is not acceptable,” Shikanda explained to Goal.
“In my opinion, if the league will not resume, then the best way is to annul this season and allow clubs to start preparations for next season because nine matches are too many and the chasing pack will feel aggrieved if the league is ended and Gor Mahia declared winners.
“For example, if we say we want to follow rules and award the title to the team which was leading by the first leg, then the title should go to Tusker and not Gor Mahia, Tusker were leading at the end of the first leg because despite Gor having three matches in hand, Tusker were on top with 16 matches played.
“You cannot assume Gor Mahia will win the league when we have nine matches to play, in football, the last team can beat the top team, football is not logic, for example, Mathare United beat Gor and Gor Mahia beat AFC 4-1 but we went ahead to beat Mathare, so you cannot tell us Gor Mahia will win the title when we have nine matches to play.
“We must make sure if you are managing football do it with the goodwill of people, but if you don’t have goodwill you will not do anything, so if he [Mwendwa] up and decided Gor Mahia are champions, we will all react, the reason he called me saying why am I complaining and we cannot win the league.
“He should know Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards are rivals in this country and if he doesn’t know that then he deserves not to be the president of football in this country because our rivals are Gor Mahia and AFC are rivals to Gor.
“Kakamega Homeboyz are just warming the second position, they are not Gor Mahia rivals even Tusker, so you cannot start telling me, why are AFC Leopards making noise and you cannot win the league, and who tells him we cannot win the league?
"Mathematically we still have a chance to win the league and it does not mean now that we are 14 points behind Gor Mahia, we keep silent just because we are behind.
“Let him not forget we are the rivals of Gor Mahia, whether we are 100 points down, whether we are relegated and playing in another league, we are the rivals of Gor Mahia and it will never change, and we welcome the SDT decision and if the league will never resume, then we should declare it null and void.”
At the time the league was suspended, Gor Mahia were at the top of the 17-team table with 54 points, seven more than second-placed Homeboyz, who have a game in hand.