Mashujaa Day: Feted Sports Heroes Cry Foul After Being Paid ‘Peanuts’

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About 40 heroic Kenyan sportsmen are completely disappointed for what they call peanuts given to them by the government during this year’s Mashujaa Day celebrations held in Mombasa on Sunday, October 20.

The Sports comrades, who comprised of the veteran athletes-the lot that lifted Kenya’s flag high during their heydays, and a new crop of top talents, who made history in the recent past, say the government literary showed them disrespect.

Speaking exclusively to Opera News, in anonymity for fear of victimization, a group of the team said they only received Sh10,000 each after spending three nights at the coastal city.

“We’re very disappointed. We feel unappreciated by the government. How do you give us sh10,000 after spending three days in Mombasa paying sh11,000 per day for accommodation? This is simply disrespectful and a total waste of time,” one angry veteran sportsman said.

Another one could not stand the difference between this year’s event and last year’s in terms of appreciation.

“Last year, guys who were recognized by the state and invited for Mashujaa Day, pocketed a whopping sh200,000. I wonder how things have changed to the extent of slashing the token by more than 180%. Honestly speaking, we’re not happy,” he said.

Some of the notable names who were invited and awarded certificates of recognition include world 3000m steeplechase champion Conseslus Kipruto, retired 400m hurdles athlete Rose Tata-Muya, former Harambee Stars goalkeeper Mahmoud Abbas and former national football team head coach Mohammed Kheri.

Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, who recently became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours, was awarded the Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart (E.G.H) by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

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