Ambrose Rachier faces exit as Sports Registrar orders new election for Gor Mahia
By Luke Oluoch, June 12, 2026Football Kenya Federation Premier League champions Gor Mahia chairman Ambrose Rachier is facing uncertain times at the helm of the club after the sports tribunal ordered the club to hold an election within a period of two weeks, citing the tenure of incumbent Ambrose Rachier as expired.
The long-serving chair has been at the helm of the club since 2008 and was elected in April 2025 for his record-extending tenure, winning it unopposed. The registrar has, however, declared that Rachier’s eight-year term under the Sports Act officially lapsed at midnight on June 8, 2026.
Lapsed tenure
In the 2025 election, Rachier was handed a fresh mandate after being elected alongside Sally Bolo as the vice chair, Nick Arum as the secretary general, and Gerphas Ogolla as the treasurer.
However, according to the correspondence from the registrar dated June 12, 2026, and in line with past correspondence with the club, the outgoing office bearers have been accused of employing ‘delaying tactics’ by stalling the first elections until August 8, 2020, in an attempt to evade the legal eight-year term limit on elected officials.
Paragraph C of the Second Schedule to the Sports Act, as read together with Regulation 20(6) of the Sports Registrar Regulations, 2016, provides that the newly elected office bearers shall hold office for a period of four years and may be elected for one further term. However, Regulation 6 of the Sports Registrar Regulations clearly provides that a newly registered sports organisation should hold elections within 90 days from the date of its registration, a provision that the outgoing chairman and his counterparts failed to implement and ended up holding the first election of the club on 8th August, 2020, an act that I believe was a delaying tactic to evade the eight-year term for elected officials,” part of the correspondence read.
In a directive issued on June 10, 2026, the registrar, Rose Wasike, opined that Rachier’s tenure officially lapsed as provided for under Kenyan law.
New elections
In redress, the registrar has directed that the process of electing a replacement be conducted in accordance with both the Sports Act and the club’s constitution. The specific regulations require elections to be held within 90 days of registration, which were allegedly ignored by officials.
Meanwhile, the club has been given a maximum of two weeks to submit an election notice to avoid potential legal consequences for the continued contravention of sports governance laws.
The directive follows a legal complaint filed by GOWAN advocates on behalf of Sam Ochola, who previously held the position of secretary general.