Competition had been scheduled to take place in capital city Lomé this weekend. 

According to a statement from the Confederation of African Athletics, the event was postponed on request of the Togolese authorities, who have recently implemented new restrictive measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Togo has experienced a rise in coronavirus cases over the past weeks. 

The country has reported more than 7,500 cases and 90 deaths in total during the pandemic.

The African Cross Country Championships have been held every two years since 2012, but last year's edition had already been rescheduled to this year due to a clash with Presidential elections in Togo. 

New dates for the event have not yet been confirmed. 

Athletics Kenya (AK) President Jackson Tuwei told The Standard he was disappointed by the postponement and had instructed athletes to leave a training camp in Embu County. 

"After deliberations with the AK officials and with the indefinite postponement we cannot continue with the training and the athletes will wide up the camp and leave on Friday," he said. 

"We urge them to continue with individual training at home for the other upcoming events."