Wario pressured to quit despite stern action on Nock

Despite taking the unprecedented action of disbanding the National Olympics Committee-Kenya (Nock) following the Rio 2016 Olympics debacle for Team Kenya, pressure mounted on Sports Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Hassan Wario to quit.

On Thursday, Kenyans turned to social media to call for his resignation after a series of scandals rocked the team that brought the nation its best return from the quadrennial sporting showpiece.

The hash tag #WarioMustGo was the top trending topic on micro-blogging site with another, #WarioFacts created to defend the Cabinet Secretary as the country braces for a tussle of blame between his docket and Nock over who is to blame for the mistreatment of the athletes who braved the fiasco to bring home six gold, six silver and a bronze medal from Brazil.

At a press conference called to announce the development, Wario gave firm instructions to his aides he would not field questions from the battery of local and international media that gathered in his boardroom at the ministry’s headquarters in Nairobi.

Wario embarked on setting the record straight over the shambles in Brazil, laying blame squarely on Nock before reading his statement, when he eventually arrived, almost two hours behind the scheduled start of the briefing.

“Unnecessary sideshows dampened the spirits of the team that is the alleged mismanagement of the team and perennial problem of missing kit. Nock officials assured the kit, accommodation was in place.

“I met the Nike director in Brazil to get to the bottom of the matter to establish the kit that was provided and what was distributed, enough is enough,” he declared.

He strenuously denied reports he had been summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations on Wednesday to explain the role his ministry played in the chaos saying the team was the responsibility of Nock.

“These allegations on the Nock pose an immense threat that will adversely affect the stability and reputation of the Olympics Games in this country and thus detrimental to the interest of this sporting disciple in Kenya.

“This not only contravenes the Sports Act, Laws of Kenya but a gross violation of the privileges accorded to Nock under the Olympics charter,” he stressed.

Wario announced he was the one who ordered track and field Team Manager, Major (Rtd) Michael Rotich and sprint coach, John Anzrah, to return home after being adversely mentioned on charges related to doping.

“I was surprised to find Rotich in Rio and he had to go and later, Anzrah because they brought disrepute to the country and this was to give way to investigations against them,” he charged.

-Nock responds-

As he was going on with his scathing attack on the National Olympics body, its secretary general, Francis K. Paul, sat a few seats away absorbing the blows and wasted no time after Wario walked out to shift the blame on his ministry.

“If he does that (disband Nock), it will be termed as Government interference it means the country will be banned from participating in Olympics Games,” Paul charged.

He alleged from their report on Rio 2016 Games, “May be from our report, you may find we were not in the wrong because we are going to give an account of all the uniforms that were received and all the uniforms were distributed and to who.

“We shall also give an account of the Chef-de-Mission’s accreditation programmes and progress. The moment we do that, you shall see the progress,” one of the Nock officials facing a probe said.

Paul claimed he had paid for his son to attend the Games as a guest and he can provide the evidence he footed his travel and accommodation costs.

“I welcome whatever investigations and will give full co-operation. Nock should not be blamed. Nock has specific roles and we have fulfilled them rightfully. Accommodation for officials in Rio was paid for by the Ministry, air tickets were paid by the Ministry. The route was decided by the Ministry,” he counter-claimed.

As the probe into the Rio 2016 fiasco unfolds, what remains to be seen is whether Wario who held on to his job in the first Cabinet reshuffle in the Jubilee administration and Nock top brass will survive the wave of public anger directed at the mismanagement of the country’s heroes.

In May, President Uhuru Kenyatta, is said to have berated his Minister after a faulty Anti-Doping Bill of 2016 was passed leading to the declaration of non-compliance by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).

At the time, President Kenyatta asked his top diplomat, Ambassador Amina Mohammed to accompany his Cabinet colleague to Wada headquarters in Monreal as a high powered delegation was dispatched to chart a road map to compliance.

“The Ministry, through the support of The Presidency put a spirited fight that resulted in Kenya being conferred with a Wada Compliance Certificate. As you have seen in the media, there were powerful countries banned by Wada,” the Minister stated in his briefing.

How investigations and subsequent action against the seemingly untouchable Nock officials who have held on to office for ages conclude will determine whether Wario will hold on to his Cabinet portfolio with star athletes who brought glory for their nation expressing their disgust by refusing to return home with the tainted administrators.

“Some of them have IAAF Diamond League races to run while others had their agents buy tickets for them to travel back and we could not stop them,” Paul offered in what was nothing more than a face-saving exercise.