This archive report was first published on 26 July 2019.
Kenya's Chef de Mission to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Waithaka Kioni, is optimistic that next year's Summer Games will be a chance to erase the bad memories of the 2016 Rio Olympics, where a historic performance was overshadowed by a kit fiasco and misappropriation of funds.
Published on July 26, 2019, Kioni, who is also the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (Nock) Deputy President, remains adamant that no coin will go unaccounted for in the Road to Tokyo as well as the Olympics proper.
‘As the Chef de Mission, I can assure you that I will not tolerate it. I will not allow it. We would not want to tarnish our own reputations and that of Nock. Each of us in the executive committee has a reputation which we have built over the years. We will not allow our reputations to be spoilt by one or two people,’ said Kioni.
He listed the gains made by the new Nock office since their election in September 2017, including monthly meetings and a commitment to good governance, transparency, and accountability.
‘We have been working hard to redeem the image of Noc-K despite the good performance of our athletes in Rio. We have been having monthly meetings and all of us have agreed to be guided by the principles of good governance. We want our decisions to be ethical and to uphold transparency and accountability. I think we are on the right track and I believe I have what it takes to deliver,’ he underlined.
Kioni is optimistic that athletes from other disciplines will qualify for the Games and ease the burden on athletics, who delivered all 13 medals Kenya won in Rio.
