(26 January 2026 | Source: Instagram page of Serik Sapiev)
The incident at the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Karaganda Region has received a public assessment from the regional leadership. The statements refer to possible violations in personnel decisions and emphasise that a legal assessment of what happened will only be given following the results of an inspection and investigation.
STATEMENT FROM THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT
Serik Sapiev published an address, in which he thanked people for their support and specifically emphasised that what occurred is not a personal or domestic conflict. According to him, without his knowledge an attempt was made to carry out an illegal rotation of heads of the region's sports organisations.
Sapiev reported that, upon discovering these actions, he tried to resolve the situation peacefully. He also noted that he considers what is happening to be resistance from individuals "who have an unspoken influence in the region". At the same time, he stated that no provocations will affect his determination to continue the systemic reforms in Kazakh sport that the Head of State previously spoke about.
POSITION OF THE REGIONAL AKIMAT
The situation was also commented on by the Akim of the Karaganda Region, Yermaganbet Bulekpaev. He urged people not to rush to judge what happened until all inspection activities are completed, reports Hronika.kz.
According to him, the department of the Agency for Civil Service Affairs (ACSA) will conduct an inspection into this situation, as well as a comprehensive audit of the activities of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports. Furthermore, an investigation is underway regarding the incident, and every action will be given a legal assessment.
The head of the region emphasised that the existence of a possible misdemeanour and responsibility for it should not affect the uninterrupted work of the state body, which must be conducted strictly within the framework of the law.
CONTEXT
Earlier, on 23 January, a video recording appeared in the public domain, which captured a fragment of a physical conflict between the head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Karaganda Region, Serik Sapiev, and his deputy, Dauren Yesimkhanov.
The police department of the Karaganda Region confirmed that a criminal case had been opened under Article "Battery" following a statement from a 42-year-old resident of Karaganda. The department reported that all circumstances of the incident are currently being established, and other information is not subject to disclosure in the interests of the investigation.
The press service of the region's Department of Physical Culture and Sports stated that the incident is not being commented on as part of the investigation. They also denied information about the hospitalisation of any of the management, reporting that both officials continue to be at their workplaces.
Later, the President of the Astana Judo Federation, Aidar Makhmetov, reported on social media that he had contacted Serik Sapiev personally. According to his words, the conflict arose over work-related issues — due to a refusal to provide documents. He also stated that the information about a physical conflict is not true and that, in his assessment, the situation has been resolved.