Talanta Hewa- Shollei Mocks Namwamba Over Talanta Hela App [VIDEO]

Uasin Gishu woman representative and National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei sent the House reeling in silent laughter when she took another swipe at Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba again over the Talanta Hela app.

While addressing the Wednesday, August 23 Parliamentary session, Shollei reiterated that she had been frantically searching for the app through the app stores of smartphones since it was launched on Friday, June 9 by President William Ruto at State House, only to not find it.

The Deputy Speaker thus compelled CS Namwamba to clarify to the House if indeed the Talanta Hela initiative launched at the same time as the app was in existence or if it was a matter of 'hot air' as she had insinuated earlier this week.

"I have searched for days on end for the Talanta Hela app which was launched by the Head of State on June 9, again there is no app that exists. What the President launched does not exist at all. 

"We would like to know, does Talanta Hela exist or is it Talanta Hewa?" she posed, sending other MPs into laughter.

Responding to the claims, CS Namwamba revealed that President Ruto had launched only the system which was ready, however, he pinned blame on delays in works surrounding the screening room for spotting upcoming talents captured in videos uploaded to the system via the application.

He however confirmed that the delay was temporary and gave a date as to when the app would be fully operational.

"What was ignited by the President at State House on June 9 was the system and the system is ready. I can confirm to this House that there was a challenge that caused a delay in the completion of the screening room because it is a whole ecosystem from the point where you take a clip and put it in the system where it is then transmitted to a screening centre. 

"That screening centre suffered procurement delays and we have been given a date of September 4 for the completion of the screening room. It exists, only that it has not been activated...and the reason why I need to clarify this is at the moment you activate it, you will start sending content, but it will not have a destination because the destination is still being put together...it is called the Talent Screening Centre at Kasarani," he explained.

Namwamba invited MPs for a visit to Kasarani at the Kenya Academy of Sports to confirm that the government was actually working round the clock to complete the screening room.

Namwamba Forced To Apologise Twice

The CS earlier received a dressing-down by Speaker Moses Wetangula over his letter to Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung'wah concerning issues raised over the management of the ministry.

Namwamba initially apologised and confirmed his willingness to let Parliament carry out oversight of his responsibilities, but Wetangula noticed him playing cheeky with his responses by attaching conditions to the apology and demanded that he apologise again.

"Don't give a conditional apology. Just cut the long story short. An apology should be unequivocal and clear. Rescind the content of the letter, apologise so that we can do business in the house," Wetangula directed.

"Mr Speaker with a lot of respect let me withdraw that correspondence and unreservedly tender an apology to the house," Namwamba apologised again.

The CS's troubles during his appearance at the House began after Ichung'wah characterised the letter addressed to his office as condescending and with the potential to undermine the role of the legislature in overseeing the Executive, given that Namwamba's letter had lamented that the accusations against him were based on hearsay and was judged without being given a right of reply.

"I will hold you to account and oversee you. As much I am in Kenya Kwanza, that must not be construed that I will not hold the government to account," Ichung'wah warned. 

Minority Leader, Opiyo Wandayi, accused the CS of failing to copy the letter to his office, with Wetangula issuing a stern caution to CSs against questioning their appearance and summons before Parliament.

Namwamba was in Parliament to respond to questions about the mistreatment of the team that attended the Special Olympics held in Berlin, Germany, in June 2023 after he was accused of neglecting the team and bungling their travel arrangements, sentiments the CS denied stating that senior officials at his ministry saw the team off to Germany.

Kenyan Athletes' Kits

He also denied allegations by Shollei regarding the authenticity of the Adidas kits worn by the Kenyan sportsmen and women, arguing that Kenya was on contract with Nike rather than Adidas on the supply of their kits.

However, Shollei rose with a supplementary question and countered Namwamba's response. She presented her evidence comprising of photos taken of athletes competing in different sports while wearing Adidas kits, some of which were drawn from Namwamba's social media pages.

She thus asked the Speaker to compel him to write a letter to both Nike and Adidas to confirm the authenticity of the jerseys and the legality of the contract. Namwamba obliged and stated that he would proceed as advised and forward the responses of the multinational sports entities to Ichungw'ah's office. 

CS Ababu Namwamba appearing before Parliament on August 23, 2023. /PARLIAMENT OF KENYA

Overall, Namwamba declared that no level of allegations would force him to step down from his docket, close to a year after being appointed by President Ruto.

"I have not said at all that I am not in control of this Ministry. I am fully in touch and in control of this Ministry but I have made it clear that this is a public institution and it cannot be run as a one-man show. I share responsibilities with my two PSs and technical officers," said Namwamba.

"I am performing well as the Youth and Sports CS. When I walked into this Ministry 10 months ago as CS, I inherited an arena that was in a total mess. I believe Mrs. Speaker that there is absolutely no sufficient ground that would cause my resignation because I'm performing exemplary well as the CS in charge of this ministry."