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2025 Deaflympics: Ray of hope for Kenyan athletes
Ian Wambui celebrates with the Kenyan flag after bagging gold in men's 1500m in the 24th Summer Deaflympics at the Sesi Centro Esportivo Athletics Track in Caxias Do Sul, Brazil on May 10, 2022.
There is a glimmer of hope for Kenyan athletes hoping to compete in the forthcoming 2025 Deaflympics in Tokyo after the government cleared a debt of Sh18 million owed to the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD).
Kenya Sports Federation of the Deaf (KSFD) is the body mandated to oversee deaf sports in the country, while the ICSD is the authority tasked with managing deaf sports worldwide.
Kenya’s participation in the Tokyo Deaflympics, which is scheduled for November 15 to 26, has been in limbo after the ICSD suspended KSFD from all its activities until the debt is fully settled.
On Friday, KSFD president, Bernard Banja, told Nation Sport that the government settled the debt last week.
Consequently, KSFD has written to the ICSD requesting for the suspension that had been imposed on Kenya to be lifted and that the country be allowed to participate in the Tokyo Deaflympics.
“We are working with ICSD to enter the Kenya Team in the Tokyo Deaflympics,” said Banja, who doubles up as the Secretary General of the Deaf Athletics Association of Kenya.
“We remain thankful to the government for continuously supporting deaf sports in the country,” added Banja.
According to a letter sent to former Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba by ICSD on June 6, 2024, and seen by Nation Sport, the huge debt arose from KSFD's failure to send teams to the 2023 World Deaf Handball Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the 2024 World Deaf Youth Games in Sao Paulo, Brazil, despite having registered for the two events.
In the case of the World Deaf Handball Championships, ICSD said that KSFD incurred a debt of € 72360 (Sh10.4 million) to the Danish Deaf Sports Association for making a contractual commitment to pay accommodation and participation costs to the event.
For the World Deaf Youth Games, the letter from ICSD stated that KSFD should pay $ 25490 (Sh 3.2 million) as entry fees, excess fees, and penalty fees for non-participation in the event.
Although the Ministry of Sports had, on November 6 last year, requested the ICSD to provide account details for the payment, the process stalled due to the failure of the Deaf Handball Federation of Kenya to refund the Sh10.8 million that was allocated for their aborted participation in the World Deaf Handball Championship in Denmark.
The Public Finance Management (Sports, Arts, and Social Development Fund) Regulations 2018 states that a recipient who fails to submit returns and activity reports shall not be eligible for any subsequent disbursement until full compliance. It was not immediately clear what action the government will take against the officials of the Deaf Handball Federation of Kenya who failed to refund the money.
Following the clearance of the debt, Banja has asked Kenyan deaf athletes to resume training immediately in preparation for strong performances at the upcoming championships.
“I want to appeal to the athletes to resume training so that they can perform well. They should put more effort because the time to hoist our country’s flag higher is coming. And this time around, our opponents won’t believe it,” said Banja.
Over the years, Kenya has starred at major global deaf events.
At the 24th Summer Deaflympics held in Caxias do Sul in Brazil, Kenya finished top in Africa and 11th globally after winning 24 medals (five gold, seven silver, and 12 bronze). In the 2017 Summer Deaflympics held in Samsun, Turkey, Kenya was first in Africa and ninth globally with 16 medals (five gold, five silver, and six bronze).
Kenya also finished ninth with 16 medals (six gold, five silver, and five bronze) in the 2013 Games held in Sofia, Bulgaria.
