Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala is out of the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, US, after finishing 5th in the men’s 100m semifinal with a time of 10.14secs in the morning of 17 July.
“Every challenge you face today makes you stronger tomorrow. The challenge of life is intended to make you better, not bitter. Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems. No matter how much falls on us, we keep moving,” Omanyala said after the race.
Every challenge you face today makes you stronger tomorrow. The challenge of life is intended to make you better, not bitter. Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.
No matter how much falls on us, we keep moving. pic.twitter.com/P4Ea4NT3DW
— Ferdinand Omurwa OMANYALA M.B.S,O.G.W (@Ferdiomanyala) July 17, 2022
Many Kenyans online are now linking his performance to his VISA woes brought the Ministry of Sport’s laxity.
Director of Criminal Investigations, George Kinoti, on Friday said his agency had been called in to investigate alleged inclusion of joyriders to the list of athletes, coaches and technical officers submitted by Athletics Kenya (AK).
Alleged inflation of the travel list from 80 persons to 112 apparently caused delays in issuance of US travel Visas to athletes, including Africa’s fastest man Ferdinand Omanyala who nearly missed the fete.
“It is really shocking… this is a shame not to the country but to the whole world… we shall not accept,” said Kinoti, while confirming the ongoing investigations, which he said commenced at the invitation of the Ministry of Sports.
State Department of Sports officials strongly denied allegations that joyriders paid Sh2 million each in bribes to be included in the list, in what has been likened to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics games scandal in which officials appropriated tickets, cash allowances and sporting gear that was intended for athletes.
Joe Okudo, the Principal Secretary in the State Department of Sports, referred the matter to Athletics Kenya.
He maintained that not a single government official had travelled to the US, explaining that only six Ministry officials are scheduled to travel, principally for a meeting next Monday with Kenya’s chief kitting sponsors Nike who are based in Oregon State.
The travelling party includes Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, her personal assistant, a technical person from the Ministry and a representative from the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.
Okudo maintained that the World Athletics Championships fall squarely under the ambit of Athletics Kenya as a federation and that the Ministry is currently focusing on financing and arranging Kenya’s participation at the July 28 to August 8 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“The fact that I didn’t travel says a lot. Only those who need to travel from the Ministry are travelling,” Okudo stressed.
The PS said that the Sports Ministry was only involved when Athletics Kenya asked for assistance with Visas after the US Embassy said it needed the government to endorse the delegation.
“All athletes got their visas except Omanyala because some information was not disclosed in his application, which had nothing to do with AK. Omanyala is best placed to answer that,” said Okudo.
