French Embassy Declines Releasing List of Kenyan Olympic Delegation
On Thursday, the French Embassy in Kenya declined to issue visa information for the government delegation traveling to the Olympics, as several Kenyans requested.
According to a statement released by the embassy, they will not publish or communicate the applicants’ information for privacy and data protection reasons.
“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,” read the statement in part.
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
However, they stated that they would only grant visas to qualified applicants who submitted valid applications.
“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,” stated the embassy.
In its statement, the French government explained that all of its embassies had taken collective action to ensure that visas were processed on time.
“All Embassies of France across the world have been putting great efforts into processing visa applications to ensure that the various Olympic and Paralympic teams, as well as supporters, can compete and witness legendary athletic performances in Paris this year,” read the statement in part.
Furthermore, the Embassy sent good luck wishes to Kenya’s Olympic teams ahead of the games.
Kenya’s team, which will be hosted in Miramas, a commune in France, has pitched a tent at the commune to hold practice sessions alongside their coaches.
Kenyans, on the other hand, continued to put pressure on the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to release the names of the delegations that would be sponsored to accompany the athletes to France.
However, the ministry, through former Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba, declared that the list would be published by Kenya’s National Olympic Committee.
The list is expected to be presented at the second PMC meeting.
French Embassy Declines Releasing List of Kenyan Olympic Delegation
