Qatar's Shaheen detained by Kenyan police

NAIROBI, Sep 20 (Reuters) Kenyan immigration officials are detaining Qatar's 3,000m steeplechase world record holder, Saif Saaeed Shaheen, for using a wrong entry pass into his country of birth, officials said today.

Shaheen, born Stephen Cherono, was detained at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Tuesday night on arrival from Athens where he ran for Qatar in the World Cup last weekend, and won the steeplechase and 5,000m gold for Asia.

''He used a pupil's pass, which allows foreigners to study in Kenya. We know he is Qatari and we want to know what he is studying in Kenya,'' the Immigration Department spokesperson, Mary Musasia told Reuters.

''Foreigners are supposed to enter the country on a visa, not on a pupil's pass. Our investigators are talking to him and we will give more details later,'' she said.

A government official said Shaheen, who is twice world steeplechase champion, will appear in court tomorrow.

STIFF COMPETITION Tens of Kenyans have migrated to the two Gulf states of Qatar and Bahrain in the past three years seeking better training facilities, better pay and opportunities to participate in global championships, which is not possible for many good Kenyan runners because of the stiff competition during trials.

But they spend months training in Kenyan camps in the highlands of North Rift Valley Province, where many of them grew up.

The Kenyan Government has lately intensified its rules on athletes who migrated to the Gulf using fake documents.

Sports Minister, Maina Kamanda, ordered the arrest of world youth 800m and 1,500m champion John Kipkorir Yego, world youth 2,000m steeplechase champion Dennis Kipkurui Keter and Hosea Kiplagat Kosgei on July 8.

The three, who acquired Bahrain passports, were detained and released following allegations they used false information to obtain their passports. The investigation is continuing, a government official told Reuters.

Last month, the minister led immigration officials to arrest runner Thomas Loriongosiwa at the Kenyan residential camp in the capital where the team was training for World Junior Championships in Beijing.

That case is continuing too.

Reuters DH VV1745