Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei has backed the move to have Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba summoned before the National Assembly to respond to accusations of mishandling Kenyan athletes.
Cherargei took to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday urging Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah who first proposed the summoning of Namwamba over accountability.
He alleged that Sports ministry officials travel with “girlfriends” at the expense of the nation’s top sports representatives.
“I echo [the] sentiments of Hon. Ichungwa Majority Leader National Assembly that CS Ababu continues to mismanage into oblivion our beloved sports. How can ministry officials fly first class with their girlfriends to Olympics Budapest, Hungary at the expense of our athletes?” he wrote.
“Our female athletes being exploited sexually & economically! Parliament must summon CS sports to avert disastrous mismanagement of our sports!”
During a House sitting, Ichungwa expressed disappointment over how the ministry has ignored Kenyan athletes when they record stellar performances during international competitions.
Ichung’wah said it is appalling to see teams jetting back into the country yet no one from the Sports ministry bothers to celebrate or receive them.
“You were made a minister to serve the people and if you are made the minister of sports you must serve sportsmen and women of our country and its indeed extremely sad that such good ambassadors can leave our country without due recognition by the ministry in charge of that responsibility,” he said.
“To make matters worse they go represent our country out there, they win, come back and not a single minister from the ministry and the minister himself has the decency to receive them at the airport or even to recognise the good work they have done for our country.”
In what he termed as a failure, Ichung’wah said that CS Namwamba has been unable to manage Kenya’s sportsmen and women and he is instead wallowing in the privileges availed to him by the government.
“You are not made a minister in this country to fly flags in the streets and bulldoze your way through traffic with Subaru escorts,” he said.
“The minister must appear before this house and I will cause his appearance specifically to tell this house and the people of Kenya why he lacks the time to attend to people who are representing our country.”
So dire is the situation, Ichung’wah added, that Namwamba travels with “joyriders” who accompany him overseas yet they are not competent enough.
“The best representation we should see are those stadia are our ministers not carrying joyriders on trips abroad to accompany them and doing nothing,” he said.
“You can imagine the great feeling that we all feel when we see these athletes competing out there and winning medals for us. We all come together as Kenyans.”
He also fronted his apologies to the Kenyan athletics team, promising that he will see to it that the menace is nipped in the bud.
“On behalf of these honourable members, the government and the people of Kenya I must profoundly apologize to these great men and women to have ably represented our country but also promise them that we shall take the minister to account.”
