Was Wanyama conned in Tanzania with street name honour?
A local authority in Tanzania was Sunday evening forced to revert the naming of V. Wanyama Street to its original identity.
This come barely 24 hours after the street was named after Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama.
In a statement, the Ubungo Municipal Council, located in the capital Dar es Salaam, explained change of heart was necessary because the renaming of the street was not done procedurally.
“All names given to streets are proposed by the Ward Development Committee (WDC) and later forwarded to the Director for approval. In our case, the council of Councillors, Dar es Salaam City Council (DCC), and the Regional Consultative Committee have to be consulted before an announcement is made,” the statement read in part.
Soon after the statement to revert the street’s name to Viwanjani Street was made public, the Swahili Times posted a picture on its official Twitter account showing a man carrying away the V. Wanyama Street signage.
Earlier on Saturday, the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder was pictured alongside Ubungo Municipal Mayor Boniface Jacob where the signage was unveiled.
“This is such an honour and I want to thank all Tanzanians. I promise to come back, spend more time with you and also reward you in kind,” said Wanyama.
During the event, the Mayor explained that the street had been renamed to V.Wanyama Street in honour of the great ambassadorial role done by the star footballer to market East Africa all over the world.
Wanyama, who turned 26 on Saturday, also attended the regional Ndondo Cup games at the Kinesi grounds.
He is holidaying in the East African country after a rigorous 2016/2017 English Premier League season.