Starlets trio plead with President Ruto to keep his Dominican WC promise

The agonised trio, whose agony is also evidently shared by their guardians and teachers/coaches; having been through an emotional rollercoaster since September 2024, when Kenya’s final squad for the World Cup was named, are crying to the President to follow up on the matter.

While Waithera and Claire missed out due to tactical preferences, Sheryl was ruled out after sustaining a knee injury during the East Africa School Games.

An emotional rollercoaster it has been indeed, as they were dropped from the team by Head Coach Mildred Cheche, but were given a lifeline by President Ruto, who pledged to have them accompany their teammates for the World Cup, having been part of the qualification journey.

Speaking at the State House, Nairobi on September 18 during a ceremony to officially hand over the Kenyan flag to the team, President Ruto acknowledged the players’ efforts hence the promise.

“I know there are three girls - Sheryl, Claire, and Waithera - who made a huge contribution towards getting us here and will not be in the team, but I want them to be part of the group that will accompany you to this event as representatives of all the others who participated,” said President Ruto.

Poignantly, just hours to Kenya’s historic opening match against England, the three are still in Nairobi, feeling deceived and neglected.

-No at ease-

Speaking exclusively to Citizen Digital on Wednesday evening, Claire’s coach Julius Aminga of Kobala Girls Secondary School said his student was confused and frustrated, but still hopeful of joining her teammates for the Dominican Republic fiesta.

“It is true she is here (in school) with us. Today, I have spent almost the entire day handling her case. When the President pronounced himself on having the three accompany the rest of the team, we all knew this was going to be taken seriously because even the Bible says there is power in word of the King. To our shock, no one showed any concern about it, which forced me to contact the PS Ministry of Sports (Eng. Peter Tum) who yesterday (Tuesday) promised to follow up on the matter.

“Indeed, he directed his Personal Assistant to follow up. As of now, we have not made any tangible progress on the matter, while the clock is fast ticking towards the Stars first match, and I’m at pains convincing her that she was not lied to,” said Aminga.

Claire's mother Beatrice Adede is concerned that her daughter is not at ease anymore, pleading with the Ministry of Sports to intervene.

"She has been calling me daily, and I can tell she is disturbed. As a parent I have to give her hope but it is not within my hands. We are confused because we don't know what happens with her KCSE if she misses the trip, as she was still in camp with the rest of the girls when they were promised a special exam.

"That has distracted her preparations, because all along she has been working with the World Cup in mind. I believe something can still be done since it is the President himself who promised," an anxious Adede told Citizen Digital.

“I’m in the dark about the matter; I thought there would be communication from FKF or the government way before the World Cup kickoff. I’m stubbornly keeping faith that it will still be possible for us to travel and support our teammates as we were promised,” said Waithera.

Aminga also confirmed that by Wednesday, there had been no communication from both the Ministry of Sports and Football Kenya Federation regarding Amuok, who studies at Nyakach Girls Secondary School.

“I was in touch with her coach and I can confirm they are also in the dark. They hope that the Ministry will handle the matter collectively now that we have raised it,” he said.

Chrispine Odindo, the Nyakach Girls coach on Thursday told Citizen Digital that they were concerned that President Ruto's word appears to have been taken casually.

"The girl (Amuok) is not calm at all. You know she was dropped because of an injury and when the President promised them they will accompany the rest of the team, everything changed and they have been waiting eagerly. We need to be careful so that this generation does not lose trust with our leaders," he said, noting that all along they have been waiting for the Ministry of Sports to act on the President's word.

While the promise of the three is what matters most to their coaches, Aminga also lamented that the teachers who contributed to the team’s success had their promise, which appears to have been forgotten.

“Soon after qualifying for the World Cup, the former Sports CS Ababu Namwamba promised the teachers who have been training and guiding the students would be recognised and get promotions. Nothing has happened so far, and no one is talking about it.

“Their parents are given allowances for giving us the talent and the teachers who go out of their ways to nurture the talent are mostly forgotten,” Aminga, whose team produced two girls in the team observed.

-Monumental Achievement-

Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen was not reachable on phone Thursday morning to comment on the matter.

The Junior Starlets departed for Spain on September 19, where they camped and played friendly matches before heading to the Dominican Republic for the competition which kicked off Wednesday, October 16.

The Junior Starlets made history by becoming the first Kenyan football team to qualify for a World Cup. This monumental achievement followed their impressive 5-0 aggregate victory over Burundi in the fourth and final round of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

The historic and decisive match was held on June 16, 2024, at the Ulinzi Sports Complex.