President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday defended the disbandment of the National Olympic Committee Kenya (Nock), saying this was consistent with the ethics and standards of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Nock was disbanded in the wake of Kenya’s shambolic preparations and management of the just-ended Olympics in Rio, where officials allegedly stole money and uniforms, and conspired to take friends and ineligible people to the games at State expense.
Uhuru’s statement comes just days after the IOC warned that Kenya would face a ban after Sports Cabinet Secretary Hassan Wario disbanded Nock.
The international body had called for investigations on the affected officials to go on, but said they should be allowed to use their offices. They also called for dialogue between the Government and Nock, which can happen at the IOC headquarters in Laussane, Switzerland.
Wario, who was in Rio, has also faced calls to resign and several officials have been arrested and charged or placed under investigation for the Rio fiasco.
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Uhuru said in Mombasa yesterday that any resolution by IOC on the matter should take into account the fact that the Kenya government acted according to the Olympic Charter stand on issues to do with integrity. Through his spokesman, Manoah Esipisu, the President said he had noted the communication from IOC on the matter and added that Sports Cabinet Secretary was “driving that agenda forward”.
“That said, there is one issue to note. The matter of integrity is so well canvassed in the Olympic Charter. In Article 2 of its Charter, the IOC says that Olympic parties must use due care and diligence in fulfilling their mission,” said office of the President.
The President’s spokesman’s said the IOC stipulates that national Olympic committee officials must act with the highest degree of integrity, impartiality, objectivity, independence and professionalism.
Wario disbanded Nock last month and transferred its duties to Sports Kenya. The CS cited the Sports Act 2013 in disbanding Nock and transferring its functions and duties on an interim basis to Sports Kenya. He accused Nock officials of high-handedness and mismanagement of Team Kenya affairs.
The IOC has reportedly criticised the Government’s move and warned that if not rectified, Kenya could be banned. It added that Nock's jurisdiction should be respected.
Meanwhile, Nock chairman Kipchoge Keino and board member Paul Tergat have been grilled by police over the just-concluded Rio Olympics. At least 10 other top athletes were also grilled by a team of detectives at the weekend.
The team of detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations also visited the athletes’ training centre in Iten as part of their probe.
“We have covered much ground by talking to most of the affected athletes in this saga. We also talked to the senior citizen and chairman Keino,” said an officer in the team who asked not to be named.
The team is expected in Nairobi today to make a decision on what other charges will be preferred on the Nock officials as the probe goes on.
