Evans Nduta has emerged as one of the most talked-about figures in Kenyan football after spearheading a series of legal challenges against the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) over the relegation of Kariobangi Sharks from the FKF Premier League.
While little is publicly known about his personal life, education, or business background, Evans Nduta has gained national attention through his involvement in the club’s battle against FKF’s promotion and relegation regulations.
Evans Nduta’s Legal Challenge Against FKF
Nduta’s case is based on the changes FKF made to its promotion and relegation system.
Under the 2019 regulations, the team finishing 16th in the Premier League had to play a promotion-and-relegation playoff against the team that finished third in the National Super League (NSL).
FKF later introduced revised regulations in 2025.
The new system provided for three teams to be automatically relegated from the Premier League and three teams to be promoted from the NSL.
This removed the playoff involving the 16th-placed Premier League team and the third-placed NSL side.
Kariobangi Sharks finished 16th in the 2025/26 Premier League season.
Under the 2025 regulations, the club was therefore relegated automatically.
Mombasa United finished third in the 2025/26 NSL and stood to benefit from the promotion system.
Nduta challenged the validity and application of the 2025 regulations at the Murang’a High Court.
Among the issues raised was the timing of the communication of the new rules to clubs.
Nduta argued that the regulations were communicated after the season had already started and therefore should not have been used to determine promotion and relegation.
On June 12, 2026, Justice Dorah Chepkwony issued interim orders restraining FKF from implementing or relying on the 2025 regulations in decisions concerning promotion, relegation and the formation of the 2026/27 competitions.
The court also stopped FKF from starting the new season on the basis of those rules pending further proceedings.
How His Case Affected the 2026/27 League
The dispute continued even after the Sports Disputes Tribunal dealt with a separate case filed directly by Kariobangi Sharks.
On August 10, 2026, the tribunal dismissed Sharks’ case against FKF and upheld the federation’s position on the 2025 regulations. The club subsequently pursued the matter through the High Court. Nduta’s separate petition at the Murang’a High Court remained active.
The dispute later returned to the centre of the league’s delayed start.
On September 17, 2026, the Murang’a High Court issued another temporary injunction in the Nduta case.
The order stopped FKF from proceeding with or giving effect to matches in the 2026/27 Premier League until a promotion and relegation playoff was conducted between Kariobangi Sharks and Mombasa United.
The order directly affected the planned September 19 start of the new season.
FKF subsequently postponed the opening round, citing the conflicting court orders and the risk of contempt proceedings against the federation and its officials.
Evans Nduta’s petition is therefore separate from the case filed by Kariobangi Sharks, although both cases concern the same promotion and relegation dispute.
As of September 21, 2026, the legal battle over the applicable FKF regulations, Kariobangi Sharks’ relegation and the proposed playoff with Mombasa United remains unresolved.
The dispute has left Nduta at the center of a court battle that has also affected the planned start of the 2026/27 Premier League.
The uncertainty has also drawn criticism from players.
Tusker FC captain Abud Omar described the repeated postponements as frustrating and said players need competitive matches to stay fit and sharp ahead of continental and national-team assignments.
FKF President Hussein Mohammed has acknowledged that the initial plans to start the new season had been rushed and said further consultations with clubs were necessary.
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