Two Eritrean Players Disappear from CECAFA Camp
Two players from Eritrea’s national team have gone missing from their CECAFA training camp in Nairobi.
The two, whose identities are not yet known, failed to return to their residential hotel after watching a match between Kenya and South Sudan at the Nyayo national Stadium, said Evans Mukolwe, an official from the Football Kenya Federation (FKF).
The CECAFA organizing committee received news of the pair’s disappearance during a Sunday morning briefing at Nyayo Stadium. A statement from the committee read “The CECAFA senior challenge cup central organizing committee sitting at Nyayo Stadium has this Sunday morning been briefed of the mysterious disappearance of two Eritrean players from their camp here in Nairobi.”
CECAFA Secretary General Nicholas Musonye said the matter had been reported to the relevant security agencies in Kenya, the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and the embassy who would deal with it. It is disappointing that we always have a problem with the Eritrean delegation over this same issue,” added Musonye.
This is the fifth year in a row that Eritrean players have gone missing during the regional tournament. Last year, more than ten players went missing from their hotel in Kampala and later sought and were granted asylum in the country. Similarly, two years ago, the entire thirteen-member Eritrean team went missing in Tanzania before reappearing in Kenya where they sought asylum.
Eritrea’s Red Sea Camels are in Nairobi for the East African Football Association (CECAFA) Senior Challenge Cup which began on Wednesday last week. Their opening match ended in a 3-0 loss to Sudan. Their next match against Uganda Cranes is scheduled for Monday.
Photo: The Eritrean National Football Team