Athletics Kenya Fingers US Embassy Over Ferdinard Omanyala’s Visa Hitch

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 18- Controversy still shrouds the circumstances that caused the late issuance of the US visa to Africa’s fastest man, Ferdinard Omanyala.

Omanyala needed a Visa for him to be in Oregon, United States for the 2022 World Athletic Championships.

Already, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has started a probe with the focus of establishing whether sports authorities are to blame.

The African record holder was supposed to fly to the United States on Monday, giving him five days to settle in before his first 100-meter race.

But with barely a day left to make the Friday evening start, he had yet to receive a U.S. visa, without which he would be barred from the competition.

The document arrived a day before the race, and he got in with only a few hours to spare, set to compete with runners who had not just stepped off a plane.

Omanyala according to AK applied for the visa on July 7 alongside his teammates. While the rest were issued with a Visa a day later, Omanyala’s passport was not released.

“It is important to note that Ferdinand Omanyala went for Visa Biometrics at the Embassy of the United States in Nairobi on 7^th July 2022, alongside other athletes. The rest were issued with their visas a day later while Omanyala’s passport was not released,” Athletics Kenya (AK) said in a statement on Monday.

“When we enquired why, we were informed that he needed to fill in an additional form referred to as supplementary questions for visa applicants, to verify some facts.”

With such, AK said neither of their officials would have intervened since “the required processes by the Embassy had to be undertaken individually.”

AK President Lt Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei said he only got the visa after the intervention of Sports Cabinet Secretary Amin Mohamed.

Tuwei denied claims that some 32 joyriders were part of the Kenyan delegation, saying only 3 government officials are in Oregon.

Omanyala failed to make it to the final of the 100m after finishing fifth in the semifinal on Sunday morning.

The Africa 100m champion clocked a sluggish 10.14, missing out on the two automatic slots for the final.

“Past the Semis I was a little 50-50. When I woke up on the day of the semis, I was feeling very tired and a little bit dizzy,” he said during an interview with Capital Sports.

“But then again, you can’t allow all of this to put you down. You really have to be strong mentally. The only thing that helped me was mental strength and positivity.”