AN African athlete who won the Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon and its £2,500 prize did not have enough money to pay for his flight home this week and was at risk of breaching his UK visa – after waiting more than three weeks for the event’s organisers to pay him.
Bosuben Benard Kipkemoi, of Kenya, was the first man across the line at the Weighbridge in St Helier on 2 October, but said yesterday that he was still waiting to receive his prize money for winning the race.
Following inquiries made by this newspaper about the delay, the JEP understands that at the time of going to press the funds were being processed and set to be paid within 24 hours.
Andrew Thomas, managing director of 3D Events, the organisers of the Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon, responded to a query from the JEP saying that he was currently on holiday and added that ‘there is no story’.
‘All payments go through an approval process and take three to four weeks on average to process,’ he said. ‘All invited athletes are made aware of this payment process before attending the event. All payments have been approved for this year and so we would expect to make all payments in the next day or so.’
Having moved on to the north of England, where he won the Yorkshire Marathon on 16 October, Mr Kipkemoi is currently in Bradford but had not yet been able to secure a flight back to Nairobi.
He said: ‘It is a very stressful situation for me – I do not have the money to pay for a flight, and my UK visa expires this Friday.
‘I want to get home to see my family, but if I over-stay then I am worried there will be big problems and it may be impossible for me to come back to the UK again.’
Mr Kipkemoi (34) told the JEP that running was how he made his living and provided for his four children. He said that he had relied on donations and loans to raise $1,450 for his air fare to Europe.
Although the original was a return ticket, Mr Kipkemoi said complications related to Covid protocols necessitated a change to a one-way fare and re-routing, leaving him needing to pay for a new one-way trip.
A flight from London to Heathrow tomorrow was available for £434 on Monday, but he said by yesterday the price had increased to £477.
‘I just need enough to pay for the ticket so I can leave before my visa expires,’ Mr Kipkemoi said.
His case has been taken up by Belfast-based athletics journalist Mal McCausland, who knows a number of Kenyan runners and who has been seeking to help.
He said: ‘Ben has been put in an awful predicament by the inefficiency and insensitivity of the organisers – they haven’t shown the slightest empathy.’
