This archive report was first published on 24 October 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta's promise to end the perennial woes of national sports teams has been betrayed, just a year after he made the pledge.
On March 10 this year, President Kenyatta announced that the government would facilitate all national sports teams, a promise that elicited much excitement from sportsmen and women representing Kenya in various tournaments.
"All national teams, be it in netball or rugby, will be funded by my government. We have put in place a fund (Sports Fund) to take care of that and I want to tell the athletes that they will not lack uniforms or training shoes," the President said.
However, on Wednesday, pictures of the national women's netball team stranded in South Africa did rounds on social media, sparking anger among Kenyans.
The government failed to pay for accommodation for the team representing Kenya in the Africa Cup Championship in Cape Town, leaving the team in a tough position.
According to a witness, the players had been honouring their fixtures on empty stomachs and forced to shower in a gym before a Kenyan lady who lives in South Africa and knows one of the team members came to their rescue and took them to a hotel owned by a Cameroonian lady.
The reason given for the government's failure to pay was that three different quotes were not submitted to show why that particular hotel was selected.
Wading into the issue, Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen promised that the Senate Sports Committee would investigate the matter.
