NOC-K issues alert over fake Team Kenya athletes & officials seeking Olympics travel documents

© NOC-K.

ATHLETICS NOC-K issues alert over fake Team Kenya athletes & officials seeking Olympics travel documents

Joel Omotto 18:53 - 26.02.2024

National Olympic Committee of Kenya has issued an alert after it emerged that some rogue people are presenting themselves at embassies as athletes and coaches to the Paris Olympics.

The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) has warned members of the public to be on the lookout for people masquerading as Team Kenya athletes or officials to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

According to a statement issued by NOC-K, there have been people presenting themselves at various embassies, especially those of European countries, claiming to be either athletes or officials from Kenya seeking authorisation to travel out of the country to ‘prepare for the Olympics.'

“We bring to your attention a matter of concern regarding a surge in the number of forgeries involving individuals presenting themselves as athletes and officials associated with Team Kenya,” reads the statement from NOC-K.

“Recent incidents reveal that certain individuals have falsely presented themselves as athletes or even officials particularly in embassies’ Consular section, creating a significant threat to the processing of travel documents for genuine athletes and officials heading for training in the affected regions.

“In response to this issue, the National Olympic Committee of Kenya has acted by collaborating closely with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to curb and hopefully stop these activities.

“We are committed to maintaining a zero-tolerance policy on any forgery as these not only jeopardize our integrity and credibility.”

With the help of the law enforcement agencies, some of the culprits have already been apprehended with four already charged in court.

“Our resolve to tackle this issue has led us to adopt more stringent measures, as we understand the direct impact these forgeries have on the athletes' ability to travel effectively, especially in Europe hence our resolute action to eliminate its prevalence,” the statement further reads.

“We are pleased to announce that our collaborative efforts with the DCI have already yielded positive results as indicated now in the attached [arrest and arraignment of the four].”

The four, Hannah Wairimu Ngugi and Charles Njoroge Muthomi and two others were charged with conspiracy to commit a felony at the Milimani Law Courts.

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