Sports CS names 18 in Steering Committee for Tokyo Games

What you need to know:

  • The Cabinet Secretary will chair the 18-strong committee with her alternate being Sports Principal Secretary Kirimi Kaberia.

With the clock ticking fast towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed has named Team Kenya’s Steering Committee for the July 24 to August 9 Games.

The Cabinet Secretary will chair the 18-strong committee with her alternate being Sports Principal Secretary Kirimi Kaberia.

Kenya National Sports Council Chairman Nderitu Gikaria and National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) President Paul Tergat are in the Steering Committee along with Athletics Kenya President Jackson Tuwei.

Kenya Volleyball Federation President Waithaka Kioni will also sit on the committee. Kioni is also the “Team Kenya” Chef de Mission (head of delegation) to Tokyo.

VARIOUS INTERESTS

Others named to the committee to help drive the final preparations for the Tokyo Games and cover various interests are NOC-K Secretary General Francis Mutuku, former Athletics Kenya official Mary Chege, Tennis Kenya President James Kenani, Netball Kenya President Immaculate Kabutha and Kenya Table Tennis Federation President Andrew Mudibo.

Also in the Steering Committee is Moses Mbuthia of the Kenya Volleyball Federation, Kenya Paralympic Federation President Agnes Oluoch, Peter Kilonzo from the Kenya Rugby Union and NOC-K Vice President Shadrack Maluki.

The rest are Florence Amoit, Japson Gitonga, Rose Wachuka Macharia, Peter Mbugua (all from the State Department of Sports) and journalist Elias Obanyi Makori.

RIO OLYMPICS FIASCO

The Cabinet Secretary’s appointment letters were sent out last month with the team expected to hit the ground running immediately after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.

After the 2016 Olympic Games, there was concern that late appointments and slow progress made by the committee handling the Games could have contributed to the gross management of Team Kenya to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

CS Amina and her PS Kaberia seem to have moved to avoid a similar disaster by picking the broad-based Steering Committee well ahead of the July 24 to August 9 Tokyo Olympic Games.