Kenyan track and field athletes due to compete at next month's Commonwealth Games have staged a sit-in protest ©Getty Images

Kenyan track and field athletes due to compete at next month's Commonwealth Games have reportedly staged a sit-in protest after failing to receive their training camp allowances and their full compliment of kit for the event here.

The athletics squad had threatened to boycott training as a result of the dispute with the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK).

Tensions have since been eased, however, as NOCK President Paul Tergat arranged for kit that had arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to be sent to the athletes concerned.

Assurances have also been given to the athletes that they will be paid their allowances by today, prior to the departure of the first batch of Kenyan competitors to the Australian city tomorrow.

The Sports Ministry blamed the Kenyan Treasury for the delay in the athletes receiving their daily amount of KSH2,000 (£14/$25/€16).

Sports and Heritage Principal Secretary Rashid Echesa admitted they were still waiting for the financial allocation from the Treasury for the Games but told Nation Sport that the money will reach the athletes' accounts in the very near future.

"There were delays from Treasury but the money has been approved and will be released soon, directly into the account of each athlete," Echesa said.

"I will not allow any officials to handle the athletes' money which will be paid straight into their accounts."

According to reports in the Kenyan media, Tergat brought kit to those attending a pre-Games training camp at the Milele Hotel in Nairobi earlier this week.

But athletes claimed it was not the full amount, sparking a row which echoes a similar controversy involving the NOCK following the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

NOCK President Paul Tergat has insisted the athletes will receive their money and full kit this week ©Getty Images
NOCK President Paul Tergat has insisted the athletes will receive their money and full kit this week ©Getty Images

NOCK were mired in kit controversy then when former vice chairman and deputy Chef de Mission Ben Ekumbo was arrested.

Large amounts of stolen kit were reportedly found at his house in Nairobi.

The former head of the Kenya Swimming Federation was reportedly found "hiding under his bed" when his home was raided in November 2016.

Tergat, a former marathon world record holder who became NOCK President in September 2017, claimed the issue had arisen because of the "lengthy" election process within the crisis-hit National Olympic Committee last year.

"We are trying to give our team the best," he said, according to newspaper The Standard. 

"Some of these problems we inherited from the previous regime but will soon clear them. 

"We are working with the Ministry to make sure all allowances are cleared by Friday."

Around 132 athletes are expected to represent Kenya during the 2018 Commonwealth Games here, which begin on April 4 and conclude on April 15.