Veteran sports administrator and senior counsel Ambrose Rachier has been re-elected as Gor Mahia chairman for a fifth consecutive term.
In the elections conducted on Sunday by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) at the Nyayo National Stadium Basketball Gymnasium, Rachier, who has been at the helm of the club since 2008 triumphed with 658 votes.
His only competitor in the race, Dolfina Odhiambo garnered 456 votes.
Sally Bolo, was elected the club’s new vice chairman with 610 votes, defeating Victor Omondi who bagged 506 votes.
Katani Secondary School principal, Nicanor Arum, emerged as the new secretary general with 582 votes against the incumbent Sam Ochola who secured 501 votes.
Arum’s win, sparked wild celebration among the club’s fans who had pitched camp outside the gymnasium. Gerphas Ogolla was elected the honorary treasurer with 559 votes defeating Philip Nyakwana, who got 524 votes. Gor’s previous Constitution had no term limits, allowing the office holders to run for an indefinite number of terms.
Since the club’s 2019 Constitution stipulates that one can only serve two four-year terms upon re-election, this will be Rachier’s final term at the helm of the club.
Gor’s Annual General Meeting which was scheduled to precede the voting on Sunday failed to take place as planned.
Gor Mahia Election Board led by lawyer Gichu Wahome, provided oversight in the elections where only a paltry 1,992 Gor’s members were eligible to take part.
Each of the four positions attracted two candidates only.
Commotion erupted during the voting process forcing police to lob tear gas and fire warning shots in the air to restore calm.
The elections followed a directive issued by the Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) on January 15, instructing the K’Ogalo fraternity to hold elections within 90 days since the current executive committee had outlived its sell-by date.
Gor’s member Bernard Agewa Omolo had filed the petition.
On April 9, the SDT allowed the polls to proceed as planned but directed that the Gor Mahia Election Board to reduce the nomination fees and extended the deadline for candidates to submit nominations papers to Saturday 1pm.
Aspirants Dolfina Odhiambo, Sally Bolo and Philip Dalmas Nyakwana were the petitions in the matter. In their ruling, the SDT’s panel chairperson Benard Wafula and members Gabriel Ouko and Peter Ochieng’ revised the nomination fees for chairman and vice chairman to Sh150, 000 and Sh 125,000 respectively.
Aspirants for the Treasurer and Secretary General positions are Sh 100,000.
A communique by the Election Board on April 1, 2025 had indicated that aspirants in the elections had until April 4 to submit their nomination papers.
Aspirants for the chairperson position were required to pay a non-refundable fee of Sh 500,000 while those running for the vice chairperson, secretary general and honorary treasurer positions were required to pay a fees of Sh450,000, Sh400,000 and Sh400, 000 respectively.
