The Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports issued a statement on October 7 defending its handling of skater Kevin Kiarie Ruhiu’s request for a visa and travel support to the World Skate Games in Paraguay, noting that the itinerary he initially submitted had already lapsed by the time officials began processing the request.

The statement said the Ministry had taken note of concerns raised by Kiarie after he posted a video on social media seeking intervention, and that Principal Secretary for Sports Elijah Mwangi directed the Directorate of Sports to engage him immediately.

Director of Sports Dr Bernard Ouma contacted Kiarie, who explained that his planned travel involved a transit through Panama and that he required a transit visa for that leg of the journey.

The Ministry highlighted that Panama does not have a resident embassy in Kenya, meaning any transit‑visa assistance would have to be coordinated through the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and Panamanian diplomatic channels.

Because the issue arose over the weekend, the Directorate began preparing official correspondence to facilitate Kiarie’s request as quickly as possible, while also advising him to consider alternative routes that would avoid the Panama transit‑visa requirement.

The Ministry said the original itinerary was for travel on October 2, but it had already expired by the time the Directorate took up the matter, and that despite follow‑up, Kiarie had not submitted an updated itinerary needed to move the process forward.

The Ministry also reminded the public of earlier government support for Kiarie, including his participation in the Africa Skating Championships in Egypt and the full payment of cash awards he earned at the Benin International Challenge and the Africa Skating Championships.

Kiarie had previously accused the Ministry of sidelining skating athletes, a claim the Ministry did not address directly in the statement.