NOCk secretary general Francis K. Paul is facing challenge from three rivals at the General Assembly ©ANOC

National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) secretary general Francis K. Paul will face a challenge from three rivals for his position at elections next month.

Paul is currently facing allegations of embezzlement and mismanagement following last year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

NOCK officials were accused of accommodation and travel mishaps in the Brazilian city, including the "mishandling of accreditation" and kits allegedly never reaching athletes, and the Government have launched an investigation.

As insidethegames reported last month, Andrew Mudibo, the chairman of the Kenya Table Tennis Association, is the leading candidate for the position at the NOCK General Assembly, due to take place at the Panari Hotel in Nairobi on May 5. 

He has been serving as the interim secretary general of a breakaway group of Kenyan Federations set-up following Rio 2016.

Mudibo has now been joined by two other candidates, it has been confirmed.

They are Nashon Randiek, chairman of the Kenya Hockey Union, and John Kilonzo, director of development at the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU). 

Former world marathon record holder Paul Tergat will be challenging Kip Keino for the position of chairman. 

Keino, the double Olympic gold medallist and widely considered the godfather of Kenyan distance running, has held the position since 1999.

But Tergat, a two-time Olympic silver medallist, is the favourite to replace him.

A total of 11 of the 22 Federations eligible to vote have already publicly backed him and, providing they keep their promises at the ballot box, he needs only another three to support him to ensure victory next month.

Former world marathon record holder Paul Tergat is the favourite to become the new chairman of the NOCK ©Getty Images
Former world marathon record holder Paul Tergat is the favourite to become the new chairman of the NOCK ©Getty Images

Richard Omwela. the chairman of the KRU, had also planned to stand for the top job, but has withdrawn to support Tergat. 

Tergat, a member of the International Olympic Committee, is prioritising fighting doping as one of his manifesto pledges.

"I will ensure that Kenyan sports remain clean," he said.

"There will be no room for doping. 

"I will have zero tolerance to drugs during my tenure."

A special group has been hired from the Electoral Board from Kenya's Centre for Multiparty Democracy to verify the eligibility of all the candidates and voters. 

It has been claimed that Keino is ineligible to stand for another term as chairman because of a rule change introduced in new statutes passed last month. 

Under the new constitution, all candidates must have been affiliated to a National Federation for at least a year.

The group investigating the credentials of the candidates is expected to announce its ruling later this week.