Ministry of Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has asked the Kenya Aquatics (formerly Kenya Swimming Federation) to end internal conflicts that have paralysed the federation leading to the ban of Kenya from international swimming competitions.
World Aquatics banned Kenyan from taking part in global competitions after the local federation failed to hold elections on numerous occasions.
Ababu who spoke at the Kenya Aquatics meeting on September 17 at Kasarani, Nairobi noted that the swimming sport in Kenya was lagging due to ongoing wrangles that started in 2015.
The CS also noted that the global suspension had denied many talented swimmers in Kenya a chance to showcase their talents and represent their country in international competitions.
Kenya risks a permanent ban from international competitions as the global body in charge of swimming gave the federation a timeline of 90 days to hold elections.
“Sports has the opportunity to contribute as a mega industry and must be run in accordance with the law,” said the CS.
The CS stated that the ministry will focus on making all sports federations accountable.
“We are going to fix the sporting arena in this country and we will hold all federations to account, with three irreducible minimums of transparency, accountability and good governance top of our agenda," added Ababu.
“We are not going to allow some federations to continue messing up the sporting scene and punishing our athletes due to their lack of good governance. This must come to an end, and we will surely bring it to a stop,'' emphasised Namwamba.
Sports federations in Kenya have been accused of mismanaging funds and mistreating sportsmen and women, especially during global competitions.
Namwamba has also been accused of mismanaging the ministry, which saw him summoned to parliament.
He has since denied the allegations against him, noting that he inherited a ministry in a mess and that he is working to correct things.
