Former Nairobi County Hockey Association Secretary General Thomas Olal Onyango has won his challenge against the association’s Saturday, 22 November 2025 elections, with the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) declaring the polls illegal, procedurally flawed and null and void.
The Tribunal has ordered the Sports Registrar to supervise fresh Nairobi County Hockey Association (NCHA) elections within 60 days, bringing the disputed leadership of the county hockey body back to the ballot.In a judgment delivered on Thursday, 20 August, Deputy Chairperson Allan Mola Owinji found that the elections held at Parklands Sports Club were invalid, quashed all resolutions, elections and appointments arising from them, and awarded costs of the suit to Olal.
Kenyan international joins Italian Serie A1 hockey clubThe decision followed a claim filed by Olal on Sunday, 21 December 2025 in which the former NCHA Secretary General challenged the legality of the electoral process that culminated in the November polls.The case, Thomas Olal Onyango vs Nairobi County Hockey Association, Kenya Hockey Union and the Sports Registrar, centred on whether the NCHA had complied with its own constitution in conducting the elections.While Olal raised several objections to the electoral process, the Tribunal identified the timing of the elections as a decisive issue.
Under Article 15(a) of the NCHA Constitution, the association’s Annual General Meeting must be held by 31 May each year. The Tribunal also noted that the association’s executive officials are elected every four years at an AGM. The 2025 NCHA Elective AGM, however, was eventually held on Saturday, 22 November 2025.
The Tribunal found that the elections therefore took place more than five months after the constitutional deadline. “No plausible reason was presented before this Tribunal on why the Elective AGM was not held by 31st May 2025,” the judgment states. The Tribunal concluded that this failure, on its own, was sufficient to invalidate the elections. The judgment states that the Tribunal, “by this fact alone”, found the elections held on Saturday, 22 November 2025 invalid.
A series of postponed election datesThe ruling also examined the events that preceded the November election. NCHA had initially sought to hold its elections on 4 October 2025 after writing to the Sports Registrar on 3 September.
According to the judgment, stakeholders were subsequently informed that the Sports Registrar had approved the Saturday, 4 October date. However, the elections were cancelled on Tuesday, 30 September after it was determined that the notice did not meet the NCHA Constitution’s requirement for 21 days’ written notice. The election was then moved towards Saturday, 1 November 2025 following correspondence attributed to Paul Omany, who was acting as interim president. It was eventually scheduled for Saturday, 22 November 2025, with the final election taking place at Parklands Sports Club.
The Tribunal noted that no plausible explanation had been provided for moving the election from Saturday, 1 November to Saturday, 22 November. Tribunal questions authority of interim officialsThe leadership structure behind the electoral process also came under scrutiny. Olal’s claim had challenged the authority of several individuals involved in the process, including Peter Njoroge, Clayson Luvanda, Paul Omany and Francis Munyao.
Olal had argued that an initial meeting at Sikh Union on Saturday, 14 June 2025, which allegedly resulted in Njoroge and Luvanda being “opted” as interim president and secretary general respectively, was irregular because registered clubs had not been properly notified and the meeting lacked the required quorum.
He further challenged a virtual meeting on Sunday, 29 June at which he said the interim officials were subsequently ratified. The respondents disputed this account.Thomas OlalNCHA told the Tribunal that the association had been on the verge of collapse and that an interim office had been appointed to ensure continuity and facilitate elections. It also denied that Njoroge, Luvanda and Munyao had been ratified as NCHA interim officials in the manner alleged by Olal.
The Kenya Hockey Union, meanwhile, maintained that NCHA was an independent county association with its own constitution and officials and denied participating in the internal events complained of by Olal.
The Tribunal found concerns surrounding Omany’s authority to seek postponement of the elections. Olal had told the Tribunal that Omany had resigned as interim president around February 2025 and that Njoroge was subsequently presented as interim president.The Tribunal noted that Omany nevertheless wrote to the Sports Registrar on Wednesday, 1 October seeking postponement of the Saturday, 4 October elections to Saturday, 1 November.Although the Tribunal did not have the benefit of seeing the alleged letter, it found that Omany did not have the authority to seek the postponement under Articles 4 and 6 of the NCHA Constitution.
Kenya unveils five hockey masters teams for 2026 World CupThe Tribunal was, however, careful to point out that Olal had not produced a list of NCHA officials to prove that Omany had indeed resigned. Another issue raised by Olal involved Francis Munyao. Munyao was described in the claim as an interim NCHA treasurer before being elected Deputy Treasurer of the Kenya Hockey Union on Saturday, 26 July 2025.
Olal argued that Munyao’s subsequent involvement in NCHA affairs created a conflict of interest and questioned his authority to continue participating in the county association’s electoral process.
The NCHA disputed the argument, saying Munyao had been appointed as an interim official by the Kenya Hockey Union and that his subsequent election within KHU did not invalidate that appointment. The Tribunal nevertheless observed that it would not have hesitated to find a letter attributed to Munyao concerning the Saturday, 22 November election invalid because, in its view, Article 5 of the KHU Constitution barred him from simultaneously holding an elective position in NCHA.
The Tribunal’s observation was made despite noting that the alleged letter and a list of NCHA officials had not been produced before it. Three Kenyan officials earn World Masters Hockey World Cup appointmentsSports Registrar says its role was regulatoryThe Sports Registrar was also named as a respondent in the case.The Registrar maintained that its statutory role did not extend to running the day-to-day affairs of sports organisations, determining their membership or quorum, appointing interim officials or conducting elections unless expressly provided for by law.
The Registrar told the Tribunal that its approval of the proposed Saturday, 4 October AGM was administrative and regulatory, rather than an endorsement of NCHA’s internal leadership arrangements or previous processes.
The Registrar further said they did not convene or manage the Saturday, 22 November elections, although it attended the polls as an observer.Interestingly, the judgment records that before the elections began, the Registrar raised questions with the returning officer about the validity of the notice, following the death of the Secretary General and uncertainty surrounding the status of the person who had issued the notice.
The elections were nevertheless allowed to proceed because of what the Registrar described as the need to avoid an administrative vacuum. The notice was considered sufficient at the time. Kenya crowned men’s Hockey Youth Africa Cup Champions as women also qualify for World CupDespite ultimately ruling in Olal’s favour, the Tribunal did not agree with all aspects of his argument. One important distinction concerns the Sports Registrar’s approval.
Olal had argued that the electoral process was defective because certain changes had not received approval from the Registrar. The Tribunal rejected the premise that NCHA required the Sports Registrar’s approval to conduct its internal elections.It held that elections were an internal matter governed by the NCHA Constitution and that the association did not require the Registrar’s approval to conduct them.
The Registrar’s involvement was therefore regulatory rather than an approval mechanism for the association’s internal electoral process. This means the ruling was not based simply on the absence of Sports Registrar approval. The decisive finding was that the AGM was not held within the period prescribed by the NCHA Constitution.What the NCHA Constitution says about electionsThe Tribunal examined the NCHA Constitution in detail. Article 15 requires the AGM to be held by 31 May and provides for 21 days’ written notice to affiliated associations and clubs. The constitution also establishes a quorum of 50 per cent of members entitled to vote.
Article 20 provides that NCHA elections must follow the general principles under Article 81 of the Constitution of Kenya.Kenya to host six Nations at inaugural Hockey5s Youth Africa CupVoting is by secret ballot, with affiliated clubs entitled to two votes each, while members of the Executive Committee, Founder Members, Honorary Life Members and Patrons do not have voting rights in elections of officials.The elections are determined by a simple majority of valid votes cast by persons present and entitled to vote.
The Tribunal’s order does not leave NCHA without an immediate administrative mechanism.Although the November office holders have been nullified, the Tribunal has allowed them to retain residual powers and functions solely for the purpose of facilitating fresh elections. That authority will last for 60 days from the judgment and cannot be used to exercise the ordinary mandate of the nullified office.
The Sports Registrar has consequently been directed to supervise fresh elections within the same 60-day period.The ruling effectively resets the leadership contest at Nairobi County Hockey Association.The Saturday, 22 November 2025 elections and all appointments arising from them have been quashed. The association must now go through another electoral process under the supervision of the Sports Registrar and in compliance with the law and its constitution.Kisumu-based Lakers hunting for partner to power continental dreamsFor Olal, who previously served as NCHA Secretary General and brought the challenge against the polls, the judgment represents a significant legal victory.
For Nairobi hockey, however, the ruling leaves the association with another immediate task: to organise a fresh, constitutionally compliant election within the prescribed 60-day window.