Kenya National Olympics organizing Committee (NOCK) officials who had been arrested have been released on a cash bail of Kshs. 200,000 each, and have been ordered not to return to work until investigations are complete. Their case has been set for September 19th. Though Stephen Soi, who was reportedly taken to hospital earlier, wasn’t present at the giving of the verdict, Francis K. Paul and Pius Ochieng were present as Senior Principal Magistrate Charity Oluoch gave the verdict. This comes hours after NOCK boss Kipchoge Keino said he will not quit even after the Rio mismanagement saga.
After calls by the public and concerned leaders for action to be taken after the mismanagement in the Rio Olympics, Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario disbanded the National Olympics organizing Committee last week. Hassan Wario addressing the press said the committee members had failed to execute their mandate in line with the Sports Act and had violated the priviledges accorded to them.
The adoption of a new NOCK constitution was handed over to sports Kenya, and the responsibilities of NOCK will also be handled by sports Kenya. The CS thereafter laid out that he had constituted a probe committee to carry out an independent inquiry of the alleged mismanagement, who are meant to present the report of their findings to the CS by September 30th.
The much-publicized mismanagement of the Kenya Olympic team has dragged on for some time now, with calls from different quarters for the resignation of Hassan Wario. Javelin throw silver medallist Julius Yego highlighted the struggles faced by the athletes, when he encountered problems at the airport after realizing his passport hadn’t been prepared. After the games, some Kenyan athletes were left behind in Rio, and given that the Olympic village was closed, they had to stay in substandard rooms, something that left many Kenyans reeling