On Sunday, July 17, social media was awash reports that Sports Cabinet Secretary, Amina Mohamed's daughter was part of a delegation that travelled to Oregon, US for the World Athletics Championships.
A number of online users accused the CS of failing to resolve a visa hitch that befell Kenya's sensational sprinter, Ferdinand Omanyala.
The athlete failed to secure a slot at the finals of the ongoing 2022 Oregon World Championships, finishing fifth in the semi-finals. Omanyala clocked 10:14 seconds, falling to Oblique Seville of Jamaica who clocked 9:30, Marvin Bracy (9:93), Aaron Brown (10:06) and Favour Oghene of Nigeria (10:12).
The results saw Kenyans online faulting the Ministry of Sports for the delay that led to Omanyala's late arrival at the competition.
In particular, an image went viral of Omanyala posing with CS Amina Mohamed's daughter, Firyal Al Hossain. She was captured with a tag titled Guest, with a red jacket and a Kenyan flag emblem on it.
The hashtag #AminaMohamed trended for the better part of Sunday morning, July 17, as the image drew the ire of netizens who alleged that the CS's kin was part of the entourage that travelled to Oregon in the place of Omanyala.
A spot check by Kenyans.co.ke on the photo, however, revealed that the image was taken during the Kipchoge Keino Classic on May 7, 2022, in Kasarani and not in Oregon as purported by tweets online.
Hossain posted the image on her social media profile and captioned it: Congratulations to the King of Africa and the fastest man on the continent - Ferdinand Omanyala. During the KipKeino Classic, Omanyala defeated his opponents, clocking 9.85 seconds in the men's 100 metres.
Another spot check on Hossain's profile revealed that she had travelled to Zanzibar, Tanzania on June 6, 2022, before leaving for Brooklyn, New York on June 19, 2022.
Among the places she toured include Chinatown, Cara Hotel and 30 Rockefeller Plaza. On Saturday, July 16, Hossain was pictured in Hamptons located on Long Island, New York.
Omanyala's visa saga also attracted the attention of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) who launched investigations into the delay.
DCI boss, George Kinoti, affirmed that the investigations were based on allegations that non-officials were added to the list of travellers, leaving behind key personalities including athletes, coaches, and technical officials.
"It definitely shocks me. This is a disgrace not only to the nation but to the entire globe, and we will not allow it," Kinoti stated.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Hossain is a Brand and Culture Engagement Manager at global brand, Gucci.
