Chess Kenya Federation Elections

The Chess Kenya Federation elections are set to take place on 28th February 2026 at a venue to be disclosed later.

Bernard Wanjala, who has served the maximum of two terms as the federation’s President, has to step down under the constitution. Whoever steps in will have big shoes to fill.

Chess in Kenya has undergone tremendous change during his eight-year tenure, with thousands of players from all over the country taking up the sport. Other major changes include giving away seven vehicles as the top prize during the Kenya National Championship over the past six years, plus the setting up of county associations across the country.

The federation is one of the very few in the country that actually has a fully functional office in Nairobi and has organised countless overseas trips for the juniors with government support.

This time, the elections feature two teams, each with a long list of promises for the chess players. One team is called ‘Team Promise‘, led by the current Vice-President, Andrew Owili, while the other is called ‘Team Change‘ and is led by Gilbert Wandera, the current Treasurer.

The full line-up is shown below and has led to a vigorous campaign across various WhatsApp groups in the country.

Campaign Promises

Team Promise’s main motto is, ” Why change a winning team?”. Team Change, on the other hand, contends that Kenyan chess has reached a glass ceiling and that a new team with innovative ideas is needed to complete its transformation.

Both sides present compelling reasons for voters to vote them into office.

The major sticking point in the ongoing debates has been the inclusion of Bernard Wanjala as the Treasurer of Team Promise. The constitution is very clear. Mr Wanjala could not stand for President after two terms, but there was nothing to stop him from contesting another post in the new team.

Section 7.6.1.c which limits the President's term. — Section 7.6.1.c which limits the President’s term.

Team Promise, on the other hand, fired back that Meschak Kipturgo, the potential Vice-President in Team Change, had no experience in chess administration and was really a novice, and hence did not deserve to be in office.

The argument might have some merit, but on closer scrutiny, it might not hold any water. Arkady Dvorkovich, the current FIDE President, was a complete outsider when he came into office and has been incredibly successful.

Challenges ahead

The new team that takes over still has a lot of work to do, with the most important being to build an internal cash generation system to finance its operations without seeking outside assistance. Once this is in place, it is possible to invite partners to further push the chess agenda.

Other key areas include.

Building up administrative capacity in terms of trainers and arbiters to assist the rapid growth of chess.
The format of the current Kenya National Youth Chess Championship needs careful analysis to make it larger and more efficient.
The current Kenya National League format needs to be reviewed to include the entire country and make it cost-effective for all teams.