Why trip to Cape Verde was delayed

Harambee Stars players during their first leg 2018 World Cup Qualifier match against Cape Verde at the Nyayo National Stadium on Friday. Their delayed trip to Cape Verde for the return leg has caused public uproar. [PHOTO: BONIFACE OKENDO/STandard]

Details have emerged on how an altercation between Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the Sports ministry last weekend nearly bungled the national football team’s trip to Cape Verde for the return leg of a 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier match.

Sports Principal Secretary Richard Ekai has laid the blame squarely on FKF for the nearly aborted trip by Harambee Stars to Cape Verde for Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier. Speaking for the first time on the matter, Mr Ekai said the ministry sent Sh17.2 million to the federation on Friday, (the day the team beat the islanders 1-0 in the first leg) to meet various expenses, including paying for the air tickets aboard Air Mauritius for the November 14 trip.

Skyward Express

But Ekai, who is the ministry’s accounting officer, yesterday said he was shocked when the team did not travel on Saturday as agreed. Instead, FKF President Sam Nyamweya turned up in his office two days later demanding more money to charter a plane.

“I was in a meeting the whole of Monday morning and when I got to my office, I found him (Nyamweya) waiting for me together with a representative from Skyward Express, who are the owners of the plane that was supposed to take them to Cape Verde. They wanted the Government to give another Sh9.2 million although this was not in our budget. But since it was a crisis, we had to look for the money,” he said.

The PS said the owners of the aircraft wanted to be paid in full hence the delay.

“Not even a letter of guarantee from myself was acceptable to them. In the end, we had to look for the money somewhere and pay,” explained the official.

He justified not paying the money directly to FKF saying the ministry’s procurement rules do not allow that.

Mr Nyamweya defended his actions, and accused the Ministry of Sports of delaying to release funds to make the trip a success.

“We had secured two separate bookings, one on Air Mauritius and Kenya Airways that was to take the team to Amsterdam and to Praia. However, we had time limits to pay. When we did not pay within the agreed time lines, the tickets were cancelled,” he said.

He added: “It is true that the ministry released Sh17.2 million to the federation, but what they are not saying is that the money went to their Central Bank account first before we could access it on Monday morning. That is why the chartering option was the best but the ministry had to add us more money to be able to do this.”

Nyamweya said he had to “go and borrow the balance” from his account on the strength of a letter from the ministry guaranteeing payment.