Leopards greats Okwemba, Barasa differ on govt ban on sports

AFC Leopards former greats Charles Okwemba and Mike Barasa have differed on government’s ban on sports activities.

Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta banned all forms of sports activities, in a raft of  measures aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19.

And while Okwemba has frowned upon the directive, Barasa believes it is the right thing to do to curb the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

Okwemba is instead calling upon the Ministry of Health headed by Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe to borrow measures other countries have put in place to ensure sports is not halted with some, such as England, planning to allow fans back to the stadia.

“They should ask themselves what other countries are doing right that we are not doing to warrant shut down.

The Ministry of Sports should be able to do it’s homework well and ensure that sports come back to operation because even some countries have already planned on how fans will return to stadia,” Okwemba said, adding: “Sports is depended on by so many people and the move that the Government has taken will definitely deal a big blow to athletes and the entire sporting family.”

However, his counterpart Mike Barasa who also featured for Leopards and Ulinzi Stars has come to the government’s defence terming Uhuru’s decision as the only option in a third world country like Kenya.

According to Barasa, athletes must seek to other sources of livelihoods to sustain their families and continue with life.

“In terms of people who take sports as a means of their livelihood, they will be heavily affected but being a developing country we have not reached those standards of issuing full medical and stadium to be secured for sports alone.

It is challenging especially to those who take sports to be everything and so I guess plan B will now be the only solution to the situation at hand, if not they will lack food,” Barasa said.