Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has dismissed claims that the Kenya Women's Amputee Football Team was stranded in Frankfurt, Germany, en route to Nairobi from Colombia.
This comes hours after a public uproar by netizens after a video emerged online, capturing members of the team spending their night at Frankfurt Airport.
In his response on Wednesday evening, Murkomen clarified the speculations, saying none of the team members had any complaints.
According to Murkomen, the players left for Columbia on Friday last week and are expected back in the country on Wednesday night.
“Contrary to the misleading claims circulating online, no complaints were raised by the players, managers, or accompanying ministry officials. Unfortunately, someone abused their privileged access by capturing video content without consent, violating the team's privacy and misrepresenting the situation as abandonment,” Murkomen’s statement reads in part.
The CS has also explained that the players travelled aboard a Lufthansa aircraft; and were to go to Frankfurt, Germany before making their way to Colombia.
“The team arrived in Frankfurt at 4:00 pm yesterday with a scheduled connection to Nairobi at 11:00 am today,”
CS Murkomen has also said that there were accommodation arrangements at the airport for the team members during the 13-hour layover.
“The team members did not have Schengen visas, which prevented them from staying in hotels outside the airport. Considering their special needs, Lufthansa provided suitable in-airport accommodation, which was not even extended to the accompanying officials,”
Videos circulating on various social media platforms show a number of the team members sleeping on seats at the airport.