Athletics boss suspended in Somalia after Nasra's shambolic run in China

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A senior athletics official has been suspended by the government of Somalia following a shambolic run by a youthful athlete in China, with social media users raising questions about the qualification of the student and the circumstances behind her clearance.

Khadija Adan Dahir, Somalia's head of Athletics, was suspended by the Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Barre Mohamud, who pledged to commence investigations into the deployment of Nasro Abukar Ali to Chengdu, China for the World University Games.

Nasro Abukar Ali ran for slightly over 22 seconds in the 100-meter race which averagely takes about 13 seconds for the slowest runners. In a video making rounds on social media, the disinterested Ali crosses the line long after her colleagues in the race.

According to the minister, in an interview with Voice of America, the athlete may have been selected due to nepotism in the department, adding that those responsible for her deployment will face the full force of the law. Her participation was a classic show of corruption, he said.

"When we investigated how she went there, she went there through [an] inappropriate process which was not transparent and not in line with the rules," Mohamud said.

"We can confirm that she was taken there through corruption," Mohamud said Dahir and Ali are related.

Politicians and social media activists have termed the incident as "embarrassing" with most calling for prosecution of those behind it. On social media, the government of Somalia has not been spared either, with users accusing it of abetting corruption.

"So Embarrassing for the young lady who cannot run. … This is a national tragedy," wrote Ali Said Faqi, a Somali federal lawmaker, on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

A civil society leader in the diaspora, Zahra Shirwa, was kinder to Ali.

"The only 'tragedy' here is that this young woman is turned into a national punching bag," she wrote. "She was clearly not ready for the competition but, tragedy?

Officials said Ali was accompanied to the airport by senior Somali officials and members of the Chinese embassy in Somalia. The ministry has pledged to fast-track investigations and take immediate action upon the recommendations from investigators.

GAROWE ONLINE