By FeverPitch Reporter
Kenya’s athletics body and its counterpart in Bahrain are headed for a major confrontation over smuggling of underage runners.
The Persian Gulf state has already been told to unconditionally release Saad Yusuf Kamel, formerly Gregory Konchellah, fifth in 800m final at Beijing Olympics last year, to represent Kenya in future competitions, including World Championships in Berlin in August, Isaiah Kiplagat, Athletics Kenya chairman, said yesterday.
Konchellah quit a Bahrain training camp in Ethiopia last year, claiming unpaid salaries. He wants Kenyan authorities to reinstate him, but Bahrain hasn’t release him.
Five others Saleh Marzooq Bakheet (Simon Mbuthia), Ishaq Isaak Abedeen (Isaack Waweru), Dawood Sultal Khamis (Dominic Kiprono), Majjid Saleh Basheer (Ronald Kipchumba) and Eyad Juma Yaqoob Basheer (Eric Chirchir) have sought AK’s help to retrieve their passports from Bahrain in order to become Kenyans again.
"We discussed the issues of the young athletes being taken to the Gulf to represent Bahrain and return to attend schools here without knowing the legal implications about their migration status," Kiplagat, also council member of world athletics governing body IAAF, told FeverPitch.
Kiplagat said, contrary to popular belief, the athletes are only given residency status and not full citizenship.
He was more angry about the issue of gullible school children taken to the Gulf then they return to live normal lives in Kenya.
Isaac Kemboi Chelimo, Edwin Chebii Kimurer, Stephen Kamar and Gladys Cherotich Kibiwot were taken to Bahrain last month and represented the State at the World Cross Country Championships in Amman, Jordan.
"They are taken from schools, spirited to the Gulf and are given passports to run in international competitions. What is their status after that? Are they aliens or still Kenyans?" asked Kiplagat.
