Report lifts lid on fiasco in Team Kenya camp

What you need to know:

  • The report by the probe committee looking into the bungling of Team Kenya at 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro Olympics has laid bare controversies surrounding the ejection of sprints coach John Anzrah.
  • It explains the circumstances under which wife of Stephen Soi, Kenya’s head of delegation to the Games, travelled and sheds light on the bungled travel arrangements for world javelin champion Julius Yego.
  • The report further explains the circumstances that led to athletics team manager Michael Rotich’s suspension from the Team Kenya camp at the Olympic Village.

The report by the probe committee looking into the bungling of Team Kenya at 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro Olympics has laid bare controversies surrounding the ejection of sprints coach John Anzrah.

It explains the circumstances under which wife of Stephen Soi, Kenya’s head of delegation to the Games, travelled and sheds light on the bungled travel arrangements for world javelin champion Julius Yego.

The report further explains the circumstances that led to athletics team manager Michael Rotich’s suspension from the Team Kenya camp at the Olympic Village.

The findings absolve Anzrah from blame, saying that it was incorrectly reported in local and foreign media that the sprints coach had signed Ferguson Rotich’s doping control form and gave a urine sample.

The probe team found out that on August 10, Anzrah used Rotich’s Olympic accreditation to gain access to the athletes’ dining hall as he had not received his own accreditation.
The committee established that Soi’s wife, Juliet Chepkorir Maritim paid for her own air ticket to Rio to join her husband contrary to reports that the government paid for her expenses in Rio.

Chepkorir also paid for her own accommodation and was not staying at the Olympic Games Village as alleged.

“Proof of payment was made available to the committee,” said the report.

The report indicates that it was unfair for Julius Yego to blame the National Olympics Committee of Kenya for the mishaps in his travel arrangements since a technical error by Kenya Airways made his name fail to reflect in the airline’s travel systems.

The report says Yego had been booked on Kenya Airways flight number KQ 770 to Luanda, the flight departing from Nairobi at 09:00 hours on July 31, 2016 and arriving in Luanda at 11:05 hours.

Contrary to reports that Team Kenya management did nothing after World steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi was stripped off his bronze medal in Rio, the committee found out that Kenya’s management protested the ruling on time but their appeal was turned down.

The report noted that Team Kenya athletics manager Michael Rotich was not eligible to discharge his duties as he had been suspended by IAAF following an expose by German television channel ARD and Times of London.

Rotich is said to have solicited for bribes from athletes so as to alert them on upcoming random out of competition tests.

As a result, Rotich was stripped off his role and subsequently sent back home. 

The report also delves into the controversy around 200m sprinters Calvin Nkanata and Mike Mokamba and judoka Sang Kiplagat.