French Embassy declines to share details on Kenyan Olympics delegation

The French Embassy has explained that it’s not in a position to share details of the Kenyan delegation to Paris Olympics on grounds that would amount to a violation of its clients’ privacy.

This follows calls by Kenyans for the Embassy to release names of the entire delegation that travelled to Paris over fears that there could be joyriders therein.

“It is important to underline that the role of the Embassy of France in Kenya is limited to granting visas to those who submit valid applications. Additionally, the Embassy is bound by obligations regarding respect of privacy and personal data protection and thus cannot communicate or publish the personal information of visa applicants,” the Embassy said in a statement published on Thursday evening.

France 🇫🇷 looks forward to hosting the world at #ParisOlympics2024 and the city of Miramas is particularly keen and ready to host Team Kenya as they prepare for the Games. @FranceinKenya wishes #TeamKenya 🇰🇪 the best of luck in Paris. pic.twitter.com/A1qe3RHAc7

— FrenchEmbassyKenya (@FranceinKenya) July 11, 2024

The statement followed a day-long push by Kenyans to the government to release the list of the Kenyan delegation for transparency and accountability purposes.

Earlier, the former Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports had written to the National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) asking it to expedite the final list of the Team Kenya delegation composed of athletes, officials and medics detailing the specific role of each member.

“The delegation to be kept at the barest minimum as directed by myself and affirmed by the Preparatory and Management Committee (PMC). The priority is athletes, their coaches and medics,” the former CS directed hours before he was dismissed from cabinet by the appointing authority.

The content was contained in the letter addressed to the Secretary General, National Olympics Committee of Kenya Mr Francis Mutuku.

The move had been triggered by calls by the Commission on Administrative Justice aka “Office of the Ombudsman” which had written to the ministry requesting that the information be made public.

The Ombudsman had further asked for a list of all non-competitive participants traveling at public expense with the official Kenyan delegation to the Paris Olympics, a schedule of the individual roles of each of them, a schedule of the allowances and sustenance costs for each of them and an indication of their cumulative costs.

The summer multi-sport event will run between July 26 and August 11

The French Embassy assured Kenyans willing to witness the games and particularly wished teak Kenya best luck in the competitions.

“As the host country of the 2024 Olympics Games, it is France’s commitment and honour to welcome athletes, fans and visitors from all around the world and to bring the global sporting community together rin Paris, in a spirit of openness and inclusivity,” the statement added.