Sports tribunal bids farewell to founding team

The secretariat of the Sports Disputes Tribunal held a banquet dinner and farewell ceremony for the inaugural membership whose two terms tenure comes to an end mid this month.

The Sports Disputes Tribunal is a creation of the Sports Act, 2013 and came into existence in 2014 under the leadership of Senior Counsel Honourable John Morris Ohaga as the Chairman and deputized by Hon. Elynah Shiveka.

For the past 11 years the Sports Disputes Tribunal which has a membership 9 has been adjudicating on disputes emanating from sports federations and athletes who have been excluded from national teams unfairly.

In 2016 the Sports Disputes Tribunal was added to another jurisdiction by the Anti-Doping Act 2016 to handle the doping menace.

The Chairman Senior Counsel Hon. John Ohaga’s tenure ended last November and Hon. Njeri Onyango who was a member was appointed in an acting position as the Chairperson. Other members who are exiting mid this month include Hon. Gichuru Kiplagat, Hon. Gabriel Ouko, Hon. Peter Ochieng and Hon. Mary Gichuru.

The other two members who left after serving one term included GMT Otieno and Robert Asembo. The court users who were present during the ceremony extended their gratitude to the outgoing members for maintaining high standards, integrity and setting an excellent foundation for jurisprudence in the practice of sports.

The outgoing members led by the Chairman senior Counsel Hon. John Ohaga, current acting Chair Hon Njeri Onyango, deputy Chair Hon. Elynah Shiveka, Hon. Gichuru Kiplagat, and Hon. Peter Ochieng reflected at the tenure for the past 11 years.

The Secretary/ CEO of the SDT Dr. Leah Kaburu appreciated and applauded the outgoing membership for a job well done.

“There are two members who will be left still serving as recruitment for the new Chairperson and five other members is ongoing in earnest. Hon. Bernard Murunga is one of the two members who will be left behind to wear the shoes of the exiting team.”