NAIROBI, Kenya, September 12, 2025 – The soap opera in Cricket Kenya (CK) took another interesting episode after the federation’s chair Manoj Patel suspended the CEO, Ronald Bukusi.
In a letter dated September 11, circulating on Wednesday night, Manoj said Bukusi has been sent on compulsory leave citing gross misconduct, insubordination, and abuse of office.
“As chairman of Cricket Kenya, and in view of the urgent risk posed to the reputation and operations of the federation, I am compelled to act under my executive authority to protect the interests of Cricket Kenya, pending ratification by the board at its next sitting,” Patel said.
The chair also said Bukusi has no authority to act for CK in the meantime, noting that the federation’s affairs are under Patel’s direct oversight as well as the acting treasurer, Kennedy Obuya.
“Any statements, press briefings, or communications issued by him after this date should therefore be disregarded in their entirety. The affairs of Cricket Kenya are under the direct oversight of the chairman, the acting treasurer, and the elected members of the board, pending further decisions of the council at the forthcoming special general meeting on 21st September 2025,” he said.
A divided federation
Noteworthy in Manoj’s letter was the absence of signatures of the other members of the board.
This is because the rest of the board members had earlier Wednesday issued a statement, which was also signed by the CEO.
The statement was to dismiss the newly launched T20 league that is set to bowl off in November this year, featuring six franchises from across the country.
The bone of contention centers around a proposed franchise tournament that Cricket Kenya entered into with Dubai-based gaming firm AOS Sports in April 2025.
In the statement, the board say the federation applied for sanctioning of the event by the International Cricket Council (ICC), approval was never granted.
They claim that AOS, however, later attempted to unilaterally launch a separate Domestic League without ICC sanctioning or fresh Board approval.
“Despite multiple attempts by the Board to get AOS to submit a fresh proposal as required, they went ahead with a launch event against Board advice. Only one director (Obuya) attended the launch, which was later misrepresented in the media as an endorsement,” the statement read.
The board members further said the federation have terminated their agreement with AOS, citing grave breaches of governance, including attempts to improperly influence board members through financial inducements and external pressure.
“Only the Cricket Kenya Board has the authority to enter into or terminate contracts on behalf of the organisation,” the statement said.
Wednesday’s high octane drama came a day after a faction of the federation, calling themselves the Supreme Council, convened a presser in which they called for Bukusi’s dismissal citing gross misconduct and insubordination.
They were angered by Bukusi’s statement, a fortnight ago, dismissing the league as illegal because the sponsor, AOS Sports, had breached an initial contract signed with the federation.
The meeting was interestingly attended by Patel, raising questions on the unity of the CK board regarding the proposed league.
