The Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) deputy president, Paul Bitok, has resigned from his post as Malkia Strikers assistant coach just before the Paris Olympics.
Bitok resigned following a public outcry because his nomination, along with that of KVF president Charles Nyaberi, to the national women's volleyball team technical bench as elected officials was viewed as a conflict of interest.
“I have also stepped down from an earlier position offered to me by the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) to be part of the technical team. This has been largely informed by the strong sentiments that have arisen out of the appointment of Malkia Strikers' technical bench for the Paris Olympics, which I was part of,” said Bitok in a statement.
Nyaberi was chosen as team manager of Malkia Strikers, with retired setter Janet Wanja serving as trainer and Japheth Munala as head coach.
The public outrage over the method of choosing the technical bench followed Kenya losing a multi-million sponsorship from the FIVB after KVF rejected the contract, which had seen Malkia Strikers benefit from high-performance training camps overseas.
Bitok stated that he had planned to retire from coaching after the Olympic Games but is now focusing solely on his executive job in the federation.
“I would like to clarify that I didn't impose nor appoint myself to the team but have been a part of them before and during the Olympics qualifiers in Cameroon - long before I was elected KVF deputy president.
“I thank God that we have been able to achieve various milestones during this period, including qualification to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2019 African Games title, 2022 World Championships in the Netherlands, the 2023 Africa Nations Cup crown as well as qualifying for this year's games. It was a great moment also working with Brazilian coaches under the FIVB empowerment programme which we were to end during Olympics 2024 after joining hands in 2020.”
