The Kenyan national football team, Harambee Stars, arrived in the country today at 1 am after their flight from South Africa was rescheduled twice due to a protest by staff at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).The protest, which began on Wednesday, 11 September, followed concerns over the planned takeover of the airport by India’s Adani Group Holdings. The strike was called off, later that evening, after talks between the government and Ministry of Transport officials, allowing airport operations to resume. The government further promised to take a more consultative approach to handling the matter.##NAJAVA_MECA_8325836##Initially, the team was set to leave Johannesburg at noon on Wednesday, but the chaos at JKIA led to their flight being rescheduled to 5 pm. After another delay, the team finally departed from South Africa at 10 pm and arrived back in Kenya early this morning.Harambee Stars had been in South Africa since Saturday, flying directly from Uganda, where they had played Zimbabwe on Friday, drawing 0-0. They camped in Johannesburg ahead of their crucial 2025 African Cup of Nations qualification match against Namibia on Tuesday. Despite Namibia dominating most of the match, the Stars secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory.Taaamu jameni 😁🍯#HarambeeStars pic.twitter.com/HThEBZ6W2P— Harambee Stars (@Harambee__Stars) September 11, 2024 Kenya now leads Group J with four points after two matches, tied with Cameroon, who have scored one goal fewer. The upcoming challenge for Kenya is a double header against Cameroon, and head coach Engin Firat is confident his team is ready to face the five-time African champions.“Do they [the Cameron] think we are easy? Cameroon should be thinking about how to crack us. I’m not afraid of Cameroon. You saw how the boys played against Ivory Coast, Russia, and Qatar. The boys are very united, believe in each other, and are unbeaten this year. They also won a trophy abroad for the first time,” Firat stated.Odada on how Michael Olunga ‘s absence affected Harambee Stars in AFCON qualifiers
