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High Court bars disciplinary action against Kariobangi Sharks
09th September, 2026 09:44 PM
A Milimani High Court has issued conservatory orders blocking the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) from enforcing any disciplinary action against Kariobangi Sharks football club until the application filed by the club is heard and determined.
According to Kariobangi Club, FKF, through its internal judicial organ, the FKF disciplinary committee, defied court orders and initiated a disciplinary proceeding against them where they sought to have the club banned from all football-related activity in Kenya, regionally and internationally.
Justice Janet Mulwa has, on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, certified the notice of motion filed by the Kariobangi Sharks as urgent and directed them to serve the respondents (FKF, Andrew Leif and Douglus Mokua) with the application in two days.
Further, Judge Mulwa has issued conservatory orders suspending any disciplinary action against Kariobangi for taking a dispute that was dismissed by the sports dispute tribunal to ordinary courts against the clear provisions of the FKF and the FIFA statutes.
“Pending the hearing and determination of this application, an interim order is hereby issued barring the continuation, conduct or enforcement of the disciplinary proceedings initiated by the FKF against Kariobangi Sharks through the document titled “FKF disciplinary committee statement of claim” dated September 1, 2026,” Judge Mulwa ordered.
Notably, the court has also restrained FKF, whether by itself or its disciplinary committee, officials, servants or agents, from taking any adverse, punitive or disciplinary action against Kariobangi Sharks arising from the said disciplinary proceedings pending the hearing and determination of the application.
Through the application, the club argues that the FKF disciplinary committee lacks jurisdiction to entertain a statement of claim instituted by FKF itself, the parent body, which cannot in law be a claimant before its own judicial organ.
Kariobangi Sharks avers that FKF cannot collapse the separation between administrative and judicial functions by appearing as a litigant before a committee it appoints, supervises and controls.
In addition, they argue that the statement of claim is unknown to and unsupported by the FKF Constitution, which provides for referrals and reports but does not permit FKF to institute disciplinary claims in its own name.
“The purported claim is incompetent, void and incapable of invoking the jurisdiction of the disciplinary committee,” part of the application reads.
Kariobangi also states that the disciplinary proceedings offend Articles 48, 50 and 159 of the Constitution of Kenya in that they seek to punish them for seeking lawful recourse for their grievances before the Sports Disputes Tribunal and the High Court of Kenya.
The club notes that the proceedings violate their constitutional guarantees of access to justice, the right to a fair hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal, and the obligation to administer justice in accordance with the Constitution.
The matter will be mentioned on September 21, 2026, for directions on disposal of the application.
