Ababu Namwamba, the cabinet secretary for sports and youth affairs, is scheduled to testify before the National Assembly today to provide an update on ministry operations.
This comes at a time when he is being criticized by a number of Members of Parliament for allegedly mishandling his docket.
Namwamba is scheduled to address the plenary and is likely to discuss the Management of Aquatic Sports as well as the Ministry’s role in supporting the Kenyan team that competed in the Special Olympics in Berlin, Germany, in June 2023.
The Webuye West MP Daniel Wanyama chairs the committee on sports, and the committee had threatened to call the Cabinet Secretary to explain his absence from the airport upon the return of 25 athletes who took part in theSpecial Olympics. This was after some members complained about the reception of the athletes.
Last week, the 25 participants who competed in the 2023 Special Olympics, which took place from June 15 to June 25, paid a visit to Parliament.
International athletic competitions for athletes with intellectual disability are known as the Special Olympics Games.
“We will summon the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary to appear before the Committee. He will explain, in writing, why he was not in a position to receive these athletes who have given us a good name in the world,” said Wanyama.
Following complaints from a number of MPs, including Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah, Marakwet East MP Kagongo Bowen, Busia Woman Rep Catherine Omanyo, and Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi, regarding the ministry’s treatment of athletes, Wanyama promised to summon Namwamba.
Ambassadors Ichung’wah said it was improper for the athletes to depart and then return to the nation without receiving the proper acknowledgement from the ministry in charge.
“On behalf of the government of Kenya, let me take this opportunity to apologize profoundly to these great sportsmen and women of our country. Even as I apologise, the Cabinet Secretary must appear before this House,” he said.
He added: “You are not made a Cabinet Secretary to fly flags on the streets, push and bulldoze your way through traffic with Subaru escorts. You are a Cabinet Secretary to serve the people. If you were made the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Sports, you must serve sportsmen and women of this country, our best ambassadors.”