SWIMMING Cooling the storm: Namwamba strikes deal to unlock impasse at Kenya Aquatics

The Sports Cabinet Secretary is hopeful of solving the woes within Kenyan swimming which has been under suspension for three years

The stalemate at Kenya Aquatics could soon be over if revelations made by Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba is anything to go by.

While appearing in Parliament to respond to a number of issues levelled against his ministry and himself, Namwaba said he has struck a deal with the sports’ global governing body World Aquatics which will swing in motion a process that will have Kenya’s suspension, which has lasted over three years, lifted.

Kenya was slapped with a ban after failing to hold elections for over 10 years due to wrangling within the local federation which has now seen the matter move to the High Court with the Sports Tribunal trying without success to solve the issue.

“The issue here is failure to comply with the law and regulations. This federation is embroiled in a court case, a legal tussle. This case has moved from the Sports Tribunal to the High Court and is now styled as Nairobi High Court Petition NoE08 2021 Margaret Irungu and other vs Kenya Swimming Federation and three others,” Namwamba told Parliament on Wednesday.

“Two factions of this federation have gone to court and the bone of contention is who should be in control of this federation and how should the elections of this federation be conducted. One faction is clinging onto a constitution that they produced and the other insisting things be different differently which had produced a major stalemate.

“I want to confirm that we have made efforts to intervene by engaging directly with World Aquatics. We have been tussling with World Aquatics to allow government to exercise the law and specifically to exercise the mandate in Section 54 of the Sports Act which allows the Cabinet Secretary to make an intervention in the management of a federation.”

Namwamba revealed how the process has been delicate for his ministry which has been wary of further sanctions over government interference.

“We have gone back and forth with World Aquatics because they feel if we deploy Section 54 then they will walk out and freeze Kenya out of international swimming activities,” he added.

“We had had a breakthrough this morning (Wednesday) with World Aquatics which has now agreed that we can form a team under Section 54 in consultation with them because they have put in place a team called Stabilization Committee.

“They have been very protective and had even refused to allow government have membership on that committee. We have agreed that we can now put together a joint team that meets their regulations and meets section 54 of the Sports Act.”

Even with the breakthrough, Namwamba admitted they still face a hurdle with the court case while Kenyan swimmers need an avenue to participate in the Olympic qualifiers since the suspension means they are barred from any activities at the moment.

“I have had a meeting with parents who insist to have a big say and I have met the Stabilization Committee and World Aquatics and with the agreement today, we can start to have a solution to this matter,” said Namwamba.

“But even as we begin that undertaking, the elephant in the room is the High Court petition which we must get out of court because we have an injunction that stops anybody to undertake elections for the management of swimming activities.

“We have asked World Aquatics to have an arrangement that will allow swimmers to participate so that we do not punish our swimmers so that they can participate in the Olympics qualifiers.”