Skater Kevin Kiarie Hits Back at Sports Ministry Over Missed World Skate Games

The Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports has formally responded to concerns raised by national skater Kevin Kiarie Ruhiu regarding his travel arrangements and visa facilitation for the World Skate Games ASU26 in Asunción, Paraguay.

In an official statement issued on October 7, 2026, the Ministry outlined the administrative and diplomatic timelines surrounding the athlete's request, emphasising that while the government acknowledges Ruhiu’s contributions to skating, proper procedures and timely documentation remain essential for state intervention.

The public discussion surrounding Ruhiu’s travel arrangements intensified after the athlete posted a video on social media appealing for urgent state assistance to enable his participation in the global championship scheduled for October 2–18, 2026, in Paraguay.

Addressing the initial trigger for state involvement, the Ministry stated: "Upon becoming aware of Kevin’s concerns through a video shared on social media, in which he sought the intervention of the Principal Secretary for Sports, Elijah Mwangi and the Ministry, the Principal Secretary directed the Directorate of Sports to immediately engage him, establish the circumstances surrounding his travel and visa requirements, and provide the necessary administrative support."

Following the Principal Secretary's directive, technical officers from the Ministry initiated direct communication with the athlete to review his travel itinerary and pinpoint the specific documentation hurdles preventing his departure.

"The Director of Sports, Dr. Bernard Ouma, subsequently contacted Kevin, who indicated that his booked itinerary required transit through Panama and that he needed assistance to secure the necessary transit visa documentation."

Securing transit clearance through Panama presented immediate logistical challenges, as the Central American nation does not maintain a resident diplomatic mission in Nairobi. This required multi-agency coordination involving Kenya's Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.

Explaining the diplomatic complexity and the timeline of events, the Ministry noted: "As Panama does not maintain a resident embassy in Kenya, the matter required facilitation through the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and the appropriate Panamanian diplomatic channels. Since the matter arose over the weekend, the Directorate commenced preparations for the necessary official correspondence to facilitate his request at the earliest opportunity."

To circumvent the lengthy diplomatic clearance process required for Panamanian transit, the Ministry advised Ruhiu to adjust his route. However, efforts to process alternative travel arrangements stalled due to missing and lapsed documentation.

"In parallel, and mindful of the urgency of his travel, Kevin was advised to consider alternative travel routes that would avoid the Panama transit-visa requirement. He was therefore requested to provide an updated itinerary to enable the Ministry to determine and facilitate the most practical intervention."

"The itinerary initially presented by Kevin was for travel on 2nd October and had already lapsed by the time the Directorate was handling the matter. Despite subsequent follow-up, an updated itinerary, necessary to progress either the diplomatic or alternative travel intervention, was not provided by Kevin."

Reiterating its stance on international travel support for national athletes, the Sports Ministry underscored that diplomatic interventions cannot bypass established government protocols, which require complete documentation submitted well in advance.

"The Ministry wishes to clarify that visa facilitation and international travel interventions involving foreign missions are undertaken through established Government and diplomatic procedures. Successful and timely intervention therefore depends on early engagement and the provision of complete and valid travel documentation."

To address broader narrative claims regarding government backing for niche and emerging sports, the Ministry detailed Ruhiu’s history of state support, highlighting previous financial backing and fully disbursed award cash bonuses from past continental triumphs.

"The Ministry further maintains that Kevin has previously benefited from Government support towards his participation in international competitions, including the Africa Skating Championships in Egypt, while his cash award entitlements arising from the Benin International Challenge and Africa Skating Championships were fully paid."

While clarifying the specific bottlenecks that hindered Ruhiu's trip to Paraguay, the Ministry affirmed its commitment to supporting non-traditional sports and maintaining open communication with individual athletes and sports governing bodies.

The official statement concluded with a call for earlier coordination ahead of major international assignments: "Athletes and federations are consequently encouraged to engage the Ministry sufficiently in advance to allow the necessary administrative, financial and diplomatic processes to be undertaken."

"The Ministry remains available to engage Kevin constructively and will continue working with the skating fraternity to strengthen the sport and expand opportunities for Kenyan athletes."

However, Kevin Kiarie strongly refuted the government’s statement, accusing Sports CS Salim Mvurya and PS Elijah Mwangi of misleading the public regarding official support and financial disbursements.

Calling out the Ministry directly on social media, Kiarie stated: "I have noted a social media post from the cs sports @Waziri_Mvurya claiming to have supported me, another lie. Through your PS @ElijahGMwangi you came out publicly to announce supporting my participation at the world skate Games, another lie because we ended up fundraising for the ticket & Accommodation."

"Constructive engagement is Recognising & supporting but unfortunately you did not even recognise my wins or the latter. And for my case, you did not even have to give me the funds, Recognising my wins from Benin and other wins could have been enough, everything falls to place after recognition."

Disputing claims that he has received prior financial backing from the Ministry, Kiarie questioned where approved funds were actually going and called for official accountability.

"I have never been supported to any of the competitions by the ministry of sports, not even the African Championship. Money was approved, but hainifikii mchezaji, where is it going??"

"Director sports said he would help, but he did not because after asking the questions he was asking, he was not helpful, I ended up missing the events, that was not intended to support, that was pretending to help, there was no goodwill. Why did the ministry not support the world skate games despite continously announcing in public through the ps @ElijahGMwangi."

"I wrote requesting to know how much was approved under my name for any of my events, in which we provided the documents, kindly give us the response."