Ferdinand Omanyala was on the verge of missing out on the World Athletics Championship that will be going down this Friday in Oregon, US.
This is because his US visa along with that of the UK were delayed so much even though he had applied together with fellow athletes, who will be representing the country in various disciplines, two weeks ago.
The Oregon Championships will end on July 24, before the team proceeds to Birmingham, UK, for the commonwealth competitions that will run from July 28 to August 8.
The Africa 100m record holder was only able to travel to US just less than 24 hours before the Oregon championships began and it was estimated that he would arrive less than three hours before his race.
Kenyans were angered by the delays and stood in solidarity with Omanyala and it eventually paid off with everyone wishing him good luck. The ministry of Sports under CS Amina Mohammed worked hard to ensure that he is able to travel and compete.
Reports however indicate that Omanyala’s visa delays were as a result of the number of people heading to Oregon exceeding 80.
In a tweet by one Brian Kuira, the ministry of sports sent a list of 112 individuals including those who were not known by the Athletics Kenya.
“The US Embassy in Nairobi refused to grant extra visas after it emerged that the list given by the ministry of Sports had exceeded the 80 approved by Athletics Kenya. The ministry sent a list of 112Â including 32 individuals not known to Athletics Kenya. That is why Omanyala is not traveling,” Kuira said.
He further claimed that the 32 unknown individuals even paid millions to be on the list.
“Ministry officials apparently sold 32 slots to people who paid as much as Kshs2M each for their names to be included on the travel list . Even AK president Jackson Tuwei didn’t get a visa. Kenya remains a crime scene,” the PR and Marketing Specialist claimed.
Apparently, the foul play saw Omanyala and other notable athletes being placed at the bottom of th list knowing that they wouldn’t be denied chance to travel to Oregon because they are of great significant and the nation was relying on them
Omanyala however did not blame anyone for the delays but noted that such things are beyond control and happen because of the system.
“It is the system, how it works, you can’t just force anything, it is out of control,” Omanyala said after receiving his Visa passports.
RELATED STORY:Omanyala Gets US Visa Just Hours Before The Oregon World Championships Commence
