GOVERNMENT CLEARS HARAMBEE STARS DUES AFTER PLAYERS’ TRAINING BOYCOTT
Government says it has cleared previous Harambee Stars allowances after players boycotted training over delayed payments, though some reportedly remain concerned about the amounts received.
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The Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports has confirmed that financial commitments owed to Harambee Stars players and technical staff from previous assignments have been cleared, following concerns over unpaid allowances that reportedly led players to boycott training.
In a statement issued on Thursday, September 24, 2026, Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya said the government had honoured its financial obligations relating to previous Harambee Stars engagements in Zambia, South Africa and Turkey.
The Ministry also said allowances for the Under-20 CECAFA assignment in Tanzania had been settled, alongside outstanding salaries for members of the Harambee Stars technical bench.
The announcement came a day after Harambee Stars head coach Benni McCarthy raised concerns about delayed payments. McCarthy said some players had attended four or five national-team camps without receiving the allowances they had been promised.
The coach said the situation had made it difficult to manage the players and called for intervention from the government and Football Kenya Federation (FKF).
The payment issue reportedly escalated when players declined to train as they sought clarity over their outstanding allowances. The incident came just days before Kenya's opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Eritrea at Nyayo National Stadium.
Despite the government's announcement, reports indicated that the payment did not completely settle concerns among the players.
According to Pulse Sports, some Harambee Stars players claimed they had received less money than expected, suggesting that questions remained over the amounts paid to individual players. The report said the players were still unhappy despite the Ministry's confirmation that previous obligations had been cleared.
The distinction is important because the Ministry said it had settled previous assignments, while payments relating to subsequent engagements that may still be outstanding were undergoing administrative processing in consultation with FKF.
Harambee Stars captain and defender Abud Omar was pictured alongside Sports CS Salim Mvurya in the Ministry's communication on the payments. However, available reports do not contain a verified direct statement from Omar accepting or disputing the government's announcement.
As a result, there is no confirmed public position from the captain that he personally endorsed the Ministry's explanation or rejected the payments. The reported concerns from some players therefore remain the clearest indication of the reaction within the squad.
The government has urged the players, technical team and football authorities to continue engaging through established channels, saying administrative matters should not disrupt preparations for the national team's upcoming fixtures.
Harambee Stars are scheduled to face Eritrea on September 26 before travelling to Guinea for another AFCON 2027 qualifying match on October 1.
The latest development leaves the focus on whether the payments and ongoing administrative processes will resolve the concerns within the camp as Kenya begins its AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign.
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Written by Anne Moses
Reporter and staff writer at Getembe News.
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