On October 27,2022, Ababu Namwamba was sworn in as the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Sports and the Arts with a lot of fanfare.Namwamba took over at a time when the Kenyan sporting scene was struggling with a lot of issues.Some of the challenges facing the Kenyan sporting scene at the time were that Football Kenya Federation (FKF) was still under a world governing body FIFA ban and Kenyan athletes were in the spotlight over doping offenses.##NAJAVA_MECA_7217526##The swimming federation was also under suspension from their world body while chaos in the badminton federation was also festering. Sports infrastructure in the country was also in bad shape.Namwamba, to his credit moved in with speed and initiated dialogue with FIFA which swiftly led to the lifting of the suspension slapped on Kenya and with this allowed the national team Harambee Stars to feature in international competitions.It was the single most important decision by the new Cabinet Secretary and it brought to life to a dying football sector that was made worse by an increase in match fixing.Not yet uhuru! CS Namwamba waiting for FIFA direction before taking action against FKFHe also did well to assure the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) of Kenya’s commitment to fight the menace by committing millions of shillings to this effect. This act saved Kenyan athletes from being banned like it has happened in Russia.The state of the sports infrastructure still remains a concern. Today, Kenya cannot host an international football tournament or even athletics. Even Nyayo and Meru stadia where billions of shillings were spent on renovations cannot host such events.It is heartening that renovation work is being done at the Moi International Sports Center, Kasarani to raise its profile. The Ministry is also building other sporting facilities in other parts of the country for the development of sports and this must be expedited.We intend to host the 2027 AFCON jointly with Tanzania and Uganda – Ababu NamwambaThe controversy in the swimming federation is yet to be resolved though the world body FINA has put in place a caretaker committee to resolve issues affecting them.It is hoped that this will be resolved quickly to allow local swimmers to resume competing under the Kenyan flag.Nothing much is happening at the badminton federation. Perhaps more effort from the ministry is needed to resolve it.Namwamba gives assurance to athletics enthusiasts in wake of Kenya’s possible international ban over dopingMuch more also needs to be done by the ministry to ensure Kenyan teams receive adequate support to take part in qualifier events for next year’s Summer Olympic games in Paris.And what happened to the much hyped Talanta Hela initiative? Nothing much has moved since the Minister put in place a committee to manage the talent search project.One hopes that the next six months will be much better for Kenyan sports.
