Be fair to Dr. Wario, he's a victim of is following Sports Administration rules

A few weeks ago, when President Uhuru Kenyatta was preparing to name his cabinet, one easy guess was the exit of Sports Minister now Kenya's envoy to Austria, Dr. Hassan Wario. 

His removal was a continuation of the replacement trend in the docket which has made it appear less credible.

Apart from Najib Balala's short stint in the ministry between 2003-2004, at the time when Dr. Wario was completing his Ph.D. in Anthropology from East Anglia University in Norfork, England, Dr. Wario, is the other non-heavyweight and first Cushite to hold the department. I can’t interpret President Uhuru Kenyatta's thoughts on trusting Dr. Wario with the role in 2013, but I guess his objective was to bring a non-partisan, non-politician to oversee his vision for the sector. 

Though less than the rest of sectors, 2013-2017 was a controversial era for Sports in the country. From the Rio Olympics to losing Chan 2018 bid to Morocco, to the back and forth issue of anti-doping compliance, it was an unfortunate era to lead Sports.

Sports is widely known to be a major market in the world and for Kenyans, it is one of the areas of common interest. According to Statista, known as a leading provider of market and consumer data, between 2005 to 2017, the global sports market was expected to generate revenue of around 91 billion U.S. dollar. This highlights how the sector is a strategic one not for fun and fitness alone, but for business too. 

Though ethnicity remains one of Kenya's challenges in service delivery, it is common in sports too. The sector has not favoured members from the so-called 'non-successful' in Sports - leaving it to heavyweight regions i.e former Nyanza and Western Kenya.

But using the same lens used to see the unfortunate incidents, it will be unfair not to mention that sports federations underwent major reforms. I will come back to that later.

Even though Spain won the Euro 2008 Cup, it was never an easy ride. Before and during the tournament, the nation risked a FIFA ban following a tussle between National Sports Council's boss Jaime Lissavetzky and President of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Ángel María Villar. The scenario was experienced last year too, causing FIFA to send its Vice President Fatma Samoura to quell tensions. This is a single scenario. but cases have been many. 

According to FIFA, “All member federations must manage their affairs independently and without interference from third parties.”. 

Coming to Dr. Wario's undoings, this total obedience to the laws of the game and faith in organizations has portrayed him as a weak administrator. 

I vividly remember a meeting he held between Sports Federations after the Rio Scandal at Kasarani. Listening to his speech, I sincerely felt mercy for him. 

'' Every time we try to solve an issue, I am warned of consequences. How can we solve the sports then? The only sports not free from government interference is Ajua'' He said.

Wanjiku doesn't care about this independence. She wants to see heads rolling like the way the Security department sacks and reshuffles officers. 

Kenya passed Sports Act, Sports Kenya is operational. Bodies have complied with the act. But imminent bans and threats made him seem a rubber stamping figure than a ruthless fellow like his sports. In Rio 2016, Kenya finished 2nd overall only second to the USA. 

The hiring and firing of coaches has negatively impacted on Sports in Kenya. Extreme immunity in the sports sector has made the federation bosses operate at will. 

Most of the changes aren't informed by unfulfilled sports targets but rather non-sporting reasons such as disagreement over salaries and backroom politics. 

Dr. Wario has shown passion and respect for sports. To date, his name hasn't been dragged to any corruption scandal. President Uhuru Kenyatta's act of giving him lighter duties was guided by pressure from Kenyans. 

Ask any Kenyan Dr. Wario's failure, but he will refer to failures of federation bosses.