AK is a modern colonial enclave

By Thomas K Kirui

When two elephants fight it is the grass that suffers. This famous Setswana proverb holds true for the fates that befell Sammy Kitwara and Gideon Lekumok Ngatuny on their Berlin aspirations.

The end result of the power struggle between Athletics Kenya and the agents constitutes an act of manifest injustice against these fine runners. It also adds to the never ending lists of mismanagement, discrimination, financial exploitation, underage recruitment, identity fraud and latter-day slavery that Kenyan runners continue to be subjected to because of perpetual territorial fights between the two elephants — AK and agents.

"Being lured into the road race circuit only weeks to an event that would catapult them to Sh4m appearance money per race at a cost of some Sh800,000 is one of those stupid mistakes one can ever make in a lifetime," (Omulo Okoth in The Standard of August 2). Omulo is on point, but I would not fault an inexperienced athlete. It is the lurer’s mistake.

"They had not told me it was wrong to compete after selection and since it was my first time in the team, I saw nothing wrong in running in a 10km race," Kitwara is quoted to have said (The Standard of August 16). I think Kitwara’s claim is credible. AK secretary, David Okeyo is also quoted in this article to have said: "It is obvious that selected athletes should not compete in taxing races and should consult us before they travel." ‘It is obvious’ to who? The experienced agent or the inexperienced athlete? Such an excessive punishment should not have been visited on a young athlete without a clear showing that he had prior actual knowledge of the prohibition in question.

Let us put things in perspective. AK is the national governing body of athletics. In this position of supremacy, it, among other things, represents the country in the IAAF, establishes and encourages the achievement of the Government’s national goals in athletics; conducts, sanctions and co-ordinates athletic activity; and, in accordance with IAAF Competition Rule 7, authorises agents to assist athletes in planning, arranging and negotiating their competition programmes.

dos and don’ts

It is thus clear that AK is supposed to be the only elephant in this set up. It is also clear that agents are supposed to handle athletes in accordance with AK’s conditions and procedures — more so with respect to athletes who have been picked to represent the country in a specific championship. One expects that AK’s conditions and procedures for athlete representation are explained to, and adherence to the same is demanded of, the agents as part of the licensing process.

One also expects that AK, upon selecting athletes to represent the country, immediately informs them of the consequent dos and don’ts.

If the agents and the athletes are aware of the dos and don’ts, why is AK always wrong footed by agents luring unsuspecting athletes away during preparation for a nationally important event? Does AK run the show in theory while the agents call the shorts?

Why is there doubt as to who controls athletics in Kenya 45 years after independence and in spite of the national and international regulatory instruments that establish AK as the governing body? On February 19, the current year’s AK meeting with its agents took place at Riadha House. In attendance were the AK’s top brass, registered agents and the so-called local representatives of the agents. Among the handouts at the meeting was a spreadsheet with details of registered agents and the athletes under their management.

A review of the spreadsheet will inevitably lead one to conclude that the regular-as-Kericho-rains standoffs between the AK and its agents occur because the professional athletes’ management industry is virtually a modern colonial enclave of European agents. The Italians, not the Brits this time, rule the roost.

The list shows 42 agents — four Italians, 11 Americans, four Britons, three Kenyans, four Dutchmen, three Frenchmen, one Australian, three Spaniards, one Belgian, one Brazilian, two Irishmen, two Germans, one Moroccan and one Austrian managing 984 athletes. 115 of them are in the IAAF World Top 30 Lists.

The three Kenyans manage a total of 32 athletes — 3 per cent of the athletes. None of them has an IAAF top 30 athlete.

— Kirui is a Kenyan-born lawyer ptractices law in Washington DC, USA