Kisumu Lakeside Basketball Club are up in arms accusing Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) of alleged plot to rig them out of the League playoffs.
The Lakers were hoping for a semis berth having stunned defending champions Ulinzi Warriors at home, but the return, which they lost, was marred by accusation of fielding impropriety.
At the centre of the storm is Valentine Onyango Nyakinda, the top scorer of the second leg encounter in Nairobi.
According to Lakeside, the 29-year-old power forward had not featured in three regular season fixtures to be eligible for the playoffs as demanded by regulations.
Read: Fiba Africa to Begin Zoom Training for Basketball Coaches and Referees
“Lakeside basketball team would like to enquire if the above mentioned Ulinzi Warriors player had played FC three regular-season games prior to playing against lakeside in games two and three of the playoffs quarterfinal games,” Lakeside inquired from KBF.
In their response, according to a Lakeside official, who talked on condition of anonymity, KBF furnished them with a fraudulent match sheet, indicating that Nyakinda had indeed featured in three regular season games.
“KBF did not give us a hearing, but instead forged a match sheet, making Nyakinda eligible for the playoffs.
“As a self sponsored club, they brushed us aside thinking we would not follow up the issue.”
Read Also: Neglected Kenya Women’s Basketball Team Sends Distress Call From Senegal (Video)
The match is contention is between Ulinzi Stars and Emyba on 27 November 2021, which was a walkover and did not take place.
Lakeside are now threatening legal action as they allege fraud. They want the match awarded to them and subsequent Ulinzi Stars fixtures nullified.
“Upon scrutiny of the score sheet, it emerged that on the same date there was no such match between the two teams and the match officials captured in the score-sheet disputed the signatures and their entries in the score sheet.
“We are to demand that Valentine Nyakinda was not eligible to play in the playoffs and penalize Ulinzi Basketball Club for fielding an ineligible player cancel the results and declare Kisumu Lakeside Basketball Club the winner of the match and subsequently nullify the results for any other match played by Ulinzi Basketball Club in the playoffs.”
Email your news TIPS to Editor@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254707482874. You can also find us on Telegram through www.t.me/kahawatungu
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
