Omanyala now absolves CS Amina from blame his visa hitch
Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinand Omanyala has asked Kenyans to stop blaming the Cabinet Secretary for Sports Amina Mohammed over the visa hitch that delayed his travel plans to the US for the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Oregon.
In a post across his social media accounts, Omanyala said the government, through the Ministry of Sports and Athletics Kenya (AK), came through for him and ensured he got the visa
“Like I said, there is no one to blame for my visa delay. We all as athletes went for visa interviews to the embassy. After that I was sent supplementary questions that needed clarification. But on Thursday, a day before my race, my visa was not out. In fact the Ministry of Sports through CS Amb. Amina was instrumental in my visa being granted once the issue was raised,” Omanyala explained.
The incident, which saw the sprinter arriving in Oregon just hours to his first race in 100m heats, angered Kenyans sports fans with many faulting the Ministry of Sports, prompting the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to commence a probe on the matter.
“It is really shocking… this is a shame not to the country but to the whole world… we shall not accept,” DCI boss George Kinoti said.
However, Athletics Kenya has since refuted claims of having 32 joyriders being ferried to the World Athletics Championship.
“The allegation that 32 government officials travelled to Oregon unprocedurally is news to Athletics Kenya. To our best of knowledge only three government officials have traveled to Oregon for the 2022 World Athletics Championship,” the AK president Jackson Tuwei said early this week.
Omanyala’s woes saw him crashing out of the competition in the 100m semifinal in what has been a hugely disappointing outing for Team Kenya. With just two more days to the end of the championships, Kenya is currently placed fifth on the medals table (1 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze) behind hosts the United State, Ethiopia, Jamaica and China in that order.