Ambrose Rachier Demands Withdrawal of Sports Registrar’s Letter in Gor Mahia Leadership Dispute

Gor Mahia chairman, Ambrose Rachier, is contesting the directive issued to him by the Sports Registrar, which asked for the immediate cancellation of a letter that questioned the length of time elected officials of the club serve.

The letter requesting cancellation was addressed to the Sports Registrar via lawyers Obura Mbeche & Company, dated June 12, 2026.

Rachier stated to the Sports Registrar that the letter issued on June 10 was unlawful, unconstitutional, biased, and not procedurally fair.

“Your opinion is factually inaccurate and legally indefensible, procedurally unfair, unconstitutional, and clearly inconsistent with how & the decisions that you have made consistently for the past 8 years,” Rachier objected.

Dispute Over Rachier Tenure Calculation

According to the demand letter, the Sports Registrar’s office had allegedly proceeded on the premise that the tenure of elected Gor Mahia officials should be calculated from the date the club was registered on June 8, 2018.

“The position taken therein is factually incorrect, legally untenable, procedurally unfair, unconstitutional, and demonstrably inconsistent with the conduct and decisions of your office over the last eight years,” the letter states.

Rachier’s legal team argued that Gor Mahia did not immediately conduct elections after registration because the Registrar’s office required the club to review, amend and align its constitution with the Constitution of Kenya, the Sports Act, and the Sports Registrar Regulations, 2016.

“The Club did not hold elections upon registration because your office required the Club to first review, amend and align its Constitution with the Constitution of Kenya, the Sports Act and the Sports Registrar Regulations, 2016. That process was undertaken with the full participation, guidance, and approval of your office and culminated in the adoption of the Club Constitution in 2019,” the lawyers wrote.

The advocates further noted that the first election under the revised constitution was held on August 8, 2020, with officials serving until 2024 before their tenure was extended by the Sports Disputes Tribunal pending fresh elections.

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Registration of 2025 Officials

The lawyers stated that fresh elections were subsequently conducted on April 13, 2025, in compliance with directives issued by the Sports Disputes Tribunal.

“These are all facts well within your knowledge as your office was a party to those proceedings,” Ambrose said.

The demand letter further argues that at no stage during those proceedings did the Registrar challenge Rachier’s eligibility to seek office or contend that he had exhausted his statutory term limits.

“At no point did you challenge the eligibility of our Client or contend that he had exhausted any statutory term limit. At no point did you assert that his tenure ought to be calculated from 2018. At no point did you invite the Tribunal to make such a finding,” the letter stated.

Rachier’s lawyers also pointed to a letter dated May 14, 2025, through which the Sports Registrar formally recognized and registered the officials elected in April 2025.

“Most significantly, following the elections held on 13th April 2025, your office formally acknowledged, recognized and registered the elected officials by your letter dated 14th May 2025. You expressly confirmed that the names of the elected officials, including our Client as Chairperson, had been entered into the official register maintained by your office,” the lawyers added.

Legal Arguments Raised

The legal team argues that the registration carried significant legal consequences under the Sports Registrar Regulations.

“The legal significance of that registration cannot be overstated,” the lawyers wrote.

They cited Regulation 20(5), which they say allows the Registrar to register newly elected office bearers only after being satisfied with both the election and the electoral process.

“Regulation 20(5) of the Sports Registrar Regulations expressly provides that the Registrar may register newly elected office bearers where she is satisfied with the election and the election process. By registering the officials elected on 13th April 2025, your office necessarily affirmed the validity of both the election and the process through which those officials assumed office,” the letter noted.

The lawyers further relied on Regulation 20(6), arguing that elected office bearers are entitled to a four-year term upon election and registration.

“More importantly, Regulation 20(6) of the Sports Registrar Regulations is unequivocal. It provides that newly elected office bearers shall hold office for a period of four (4) years and may be elected for one further term,” the notice added.

According to the letter, the law does not provide for the term of office to be calculated from the date a sports organization is registered.

“The Regulation does not provide that the term of office runs from the date of registration of a sports organization. Neither does it authorize the Registrar to retrospectively attribute periods preceding an election to an elected term of office. The term prescribed by law attaches to newly elected office bearers upon election and registration,” the lawyers added.

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Demand for Withdrawal

Rachier’s advocates maintain that once the Sports Registrar recognized and registered the officials elected in April 2025, a statutory four-year term immediately attached to those office holders.

“Accordingly, upon your office recognizing and registering the officials elected on 13th April 2025, the statutory consequence prescribed under Regulation 20(6) immediately attached to those officials, namely, a four-year term of office,” the lawyers stated.

The lawyers concluded by accusing the Registrar of attempting to alter a term of office already established by law and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the June 10 letter.

“Your office cannot now purport to revisit, vary, curtail, or extinguish a statutory term that arose by operation of law following your own decision to register the elected officials. Simply put, the Sports Registrar has no authority to rewrite Regulation 20(6) or substitute the clear provisions of the law with a personal interpretation unsupported by either the Sports Act, the Regulations, or the Constitution of the Club,” Rachier concluded.

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Gor Mahia players celebrate their SportPesa Premier League title for the 2025/26 season. PHOTO/Gor Mahia FC.