Kenya Athletes Angry at Rio Shanty Accommodation

Kenyan athletes are stranded in a Rio shanty town where gunshots can be heard, following the closure of the Olympic village, the team captain says.

Officials delayed their return home as they looked for a “cheap flight”, said Wesley Korir, a marathon runner who is also an independent MP.

He posted images on Twitter of dilapidated buildings in the area where he said they were forced to stay.

Team Kenya has been dogged by allegations of mismanagement at Rio.

Sports Minister Hassan Wario says the government has responded by disbanding the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) and ordering an investigation into the problems the team faced in Rio, reports the BBC’s Wanyama Chebusiri from the capital, Nairobi.

Mr Korir said athletes had experienced “hell” and he would demand action when he returned home.

The team won 13 medals, the highest by an African country, and this “is how they treat us”, he added.

The men’s marathon team is among the athletes stuck in the shanty town, except for gold medallist Eliud Kipchoge, who bought his own ticket to leave, Mr Korir said.

Athletes were ordered to stay indoors as gunshots were heard all night, he added in a tweet.

Kenya won six gold medals, six silver and a bronze at the Games, which ended on Sunday.