Ababu welcomes Kenyan Aquatics return to international competition

Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has lauded the lifting of the four-year ban on Kenyan swimmers by the World Aquatics body.

Kenya was suspended in 2019 and in May 2022, they were banned for failure to hold elections within the stipulated October 30 deadline. The ban was lifted last week.

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Speaking at the Green Stadium in Kericho during the handing-over ceremony of the newly-refurbished facility, Ababu was pleased that lifting the ban would give Kenyan swimmers the window to participate in the trials for the 2024 Paris Olympics and build up to other regional and continental meets.

"I am happy that we have successfully engaged with World Aquatics, and we put in place a program that allowed World Aquatics to lift the sanction for Kenyan swimmers and they can now compete internationally,” the CS noted.

"I am particularly happy that this comes at a time when qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics are going on, so our swimmers will be able to participate. it is a great thing. It has been unacceptable to lock out Kenyan swimmers out of competition," he further offered.

Ababu further pointed out that sports is an age-sensitive affair and losing out on four solid years was unacceptable.

"If you lock out a swimmer for four years, you may kill their career completely. I can guarantee Kenyan swimmers that we will manage our federations in such a way that we do not keep falling into these pitfalls of bans," the CS assured.

The new office, under the stewardship of Maureen Owiti, has moved with speed to make plans for 40 swimmers to compete in the CANA Zone 3 Swimming Championships in Rwanda next month as well as the Africa Junior Championships in Mauritius in December.

Other events to feature include the World Long Course Swimming Championships in Doha, Qatar next year in February and the Paris Olympics in July. Between 2021 and this year, Kenyan swimmers swam under a neutral flag.

Ababu also issued a stern warning to athletes, coaches, managers, and sports administrators, emphasizing that his ministry would not entertain any performance-enhancing athletes.

“We have put in place a good plan to fight the war against doping and we believe there is progress. We will not condone doping and the penalties for such will be severe,” Ababu warned.

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