In his continued onslaught on Minstry of Sports, Youth and the Arts Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba, Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei now claims that Sh 27,770,400 of athletes’ allowances plus undisclosed air ticket payments are unaccounted for.
In his statement issued from Parliament grounds, the vocal Senator claimed that athletes who returned home from the World Athletics Championships that just concluded in Budapest, Hungary, told him their allowances were slashed from $300 a day to $60.
“On the recently concluded world athletics championships in Budapest, Hungary, Kenya recorded poor performance in recent history of athletics competitions- majorly because of team demotivation!
Why would a legend- Faith Kipyegon- and other athletes fly economy class whereas Ministry of sports and Athletics Kenya (AK) joyriders fly first and business class? Kitawaramba!” said Senator Cherargei on August 28, 2023, despite not providing any evidence to back up his claims.
He also accused CS Namwamba of not receiving athletes last evening at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, singling out his absence when Faith Kipyegon landed at 9pm. Last week, Senator Cherargei made the same accusations regarding Ministry and Athletics Kenya officials enjoying luxury as opposed to athletes, going as far as claiming some of them brought their girlfriends with them to Budapest.
At the World Championships, Kenya placed first in Africa with ten medals but ranked fifth globally. It is believed Kenya could have performed better considering many of Kenya’s elite athletes were not present at the Championships and could be preparing to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics.
