Kenya Lionesses lament over unpaid salaries

In the recent weeks, reports have been doing rounds on social media about the sad state of affairs in the Kenya Lionesses camp, raising concerns about the ladies' financial well-being.

The most recent player to speak on the issue was Olympian Sinaida Aura who lamented that the situation was so dire that some players could barely afford basic needs like food and shelter.

"When you dream of dawning the national colors and mapping the country sometimes the continent, it never crosses your mind the amount of frustration you will go through as a player to be able to afford basic human needs. Food, shelter and clothing (in this case clothing is a bonus so let’s focus on food and shelter),” she started.

Sinaida who has represented the country in several global events was further concerned that the decisions in the board were made on the basis of greed and selfishness, and the Lionesses suffered the consequences.

"Joining the national team reignites some sense of hope and achievement in you. It brings some sense of balance. But in Kenya, (read rugby) this is short lived. Decisions driven by greed, selfishness and lack of vision are crippling the game. More so for women," she added.

She went on to candidly state that her predecessors had warned her of the issue when she first donned the national jersey, noting that it seemed to have started way earlier. The Olympian called on the Union to come to their rescue, lest they kill the legacy of the game in Kenya.

Mozzart Sport also reached out to more players who lamented over the strain caused by the unpaid salaries. Most of them sought anonymity for fear of victimisation, echoing that they could not afford basic needs.

Lionesses trio receive glowing praise after Sevens Challenger Series

“Life is becoming hard, and we have rent and other bills to pay. It’s now 7 months since we received salaries, no one even cares to communicate when the money will be settled yet we are expected to show up on training, it’s just sad,” one player stated.

"We are ladies for heaven's sake. Some of us depend fully on the game to pay bills. How do they expect us to survive in these harsh economic times?" another player posed.

According to Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) Chairman Sasha Mutai, his administration is aware of the situation and "will release a statement" this week to address the same.

"You'll get an official statement from KRU this week," Mutai simply told Mozzart Sport on Monday morning.

The Kenya Lionesses missed out on a direct ticket to the Paris Olympics and will be hoping to succeed in the upcoming Final Olympic Qualification Tournament. However, the players are not in the right state of mind at the moment for obvious reasons and there's need for the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) and the Ministry of Sports to move with speed to solve the impasse.