OUTRAGE AS KEMBOI SNEAKS BACK HOME

By Omulo Okoth
Olympic 3,000m steeplechase
champion Ezekiel Kemboi left
London Tuesday afternoon to
return home, moments before the
Prime Minister Raila Odinga joined
Team Kenya for tea and a chat,
sparking outrage among team
officials.
Kemboi said he was returning
home to start preparing for a track
race, a 10km road and a half
marathon race in the remaining
part of this year.
He had briefly spoken to Kenyan
media at the Olympic Village when
he said he dedicated his gold
medal to President Kibaki for his
good leadership, Prime Minister's
wife Ida Raila, for defending him
during his recent court case, the
people of Kenya and his family.
He said Kenyan athletes should
have gone to Bristol to adapt with
the British weather, which he said
helped him clinch the gold medal.
"I only ran one race this year (in
Rome) and trained very well for
this Olympics. Coming to Bristol
also helped me a lot adapt to the
weather and I think that is what
other athletes should have done,"
he said.
But National Olympic Committee
of Kenya Chairman, Kipchoge
Keino wondered why Kemboi had
gone back home, leaving the team
behind. He asked Chef De Mission
Jonathan Koskei, who also
wondered who had permitted
Kemboi to leave.
Chief Executive of Team Kenya
Stephen arap Soi and Media
Liaison Peter Angwenyi also did
not know who had changed
Kemboi's ticket, bringing another
mystery to the team's
management.