Kenya lose points over star Auma

It was a day of shame on Wednesday after Kenya’s under-18 girls’ basketball team player Purity Auma Odhiambo was handed a year’s ban and the team docked all its points at the Africa Under-18 Women’s Basketball Championship in Cairo.

Auma has been suspended for 12 months by the continental basketball governing body, Fiba Africa, for age fraud while the team has been docked all its Group ‘A’ points.

But Kenya Basketball Federation chairman Paul Otula on Wednesday said there was foul play and read malice in Fiba Africa’s move.

“It’s a matter of jealousy. They are not happy with the manner in which Kenya has shot up. We are definitely going to appeal against the decision.”

The decision was taken during a meeting of the technical committee of the Federation of International Basketball (Fiba) Africa Zone in Cairo.

According to a communication from Fiba Africa, the Kenya Basketball Federation had given to Fiba Africa - while registering the player for the Africa Under-18 Women’s Basketball Championship in Cairo - her passport that showed that she was born in October 20, 1992.

But the technical committee found out that the same player, while applying for a licence to play for APR of Rwanda in 2007, had showed that she was born in 1991.

She was thus found guilty of having broken Fiba Africa’s unified rules of the competition Chapter II (article 6), that govern the age of the players, and Chapter III (D) concerning eligibility of players.

In a letter to the president of the KBF, Fiba Africa technical committee president, Conde Fode Amara, said that his committee had found out that Auma had two different documents with two different dates of birth.

The letter said: “The (Auma’s) passport that had been presented at the technical meeting is showing date of birth of October 20, 1992.

“After name comparison in our database, it appears that the same player presented a request of registration for APR club of Rwanda in 2007.

“The identification document provided was a temporary permit with date of birth indicated 1991. Having two different documents of identification with two different dates of birth is a violation of Fiba Africa Rules.

“After study of different documents, Fiba Africa decided to cancel the Fiba ID card delivered to the player.”