Kenya Hockey teams in Johannesburg kicked out of their hotel

Ransburg Towers hotel

By Fred Maingi Lack of money and lack of  communication  has forced the  two Kenya teams at the Junior World Cup Under-21 Africa hockey qualifying tournament in Johannesburg be kicked out of their hotel .
Even with the  intervention of  the  kenya Ministry of Sports permanent secretary, James Waweru, to settle the teams’ budget of KSh6.5 million, the  teams were still locked out of the Five-star  Ransburg Towers  Hotel .
 They were hounded out of Ransburg Towers Hotel even after Interestingly, even after the government provided tickets for Sh3.4 million the teams they were forced to leave Nairobi last Thursday without the balance, which was to cater for meals and accommodation.
An official from South Africa Hockey Association (SAHA)confirmed  on phone from Johannesburg that the teams had been kicked out of the Ransburg Towers.
They were making frantic efforts to get in touch with Kenya Hockey Union (KHU) officials for help.
A KHU official who sought anonymity said Africa Hockey Federation (AHF) president Seif Ahmed had secured a goodwill gesture from a friend in Johannesburg, who stepped in with KSh850,000 for the teams to stay at the hotel until Tuesday.
The government official, who was to have departed with the team, Mary Kemeli, was left behind after the government failed to release the remainder of the funds.

From Uganda ,Federation of Uganda Football Association(FUFA) has rewarded  Uganda Cranes players  and the technical staff with undisclosed amount in recognition of their splendid performance against Zambia’s  Chipolopolo.

  Despite losing through the dreaded penalty shoot-out, Fufa officials led by Fufa President Lawrence Mulindwa  felt the team deserved praise and a  small token to appreciate their hard work.

     Apparently, Fufa  in their weekend meeting held  at Mengo House in Kampala did  not disclose the reward.

    Mulindwa hailed the team saying despite  being eliminated by the Africa Cup of Nation’s defending Champions, they had  done Uganda proud .
  The Fufa Chief said it was unfortunate that Uganda Cranes were knocked out  courtesy of  spot kicks that  he compared to a lottery where any person can win or lose. He  said the team’s performance proved there  were strong signs of improvement in the  team.

“ It’s unfortunate, we have been missing qualification by points or goals, now we only missed because of penalties.That shows we are getting close. The day we qualify, it will become normal for us to be in the tournament,” he remarked.