Former World javelin champion Julius Yego has joined other leaders in calling on the government to provide security to athletes.
Yego who spoke during the funeral of the late World Marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum Friday, Yego said athletes bring pride and honour to the country and they deserve to be protected.
Kiptum’s loss, he said, was huge to bear not only to the family and the country but to the whole world.
“If he had a driver and a security, maybe we would have saved him,” he said.
Yego said the privilege should be accorded to the world champions who he said are few and will not cost the country much.
“It doesn’t cost much for our country because the pride that these athletes bring to this country is much bigger,” he stated.
Yego at the same time pleaded with the government to start a training camp for athletes in the region and be named after Kiptum in his honour.
Last week, MPs said Kiptum’s life could have been saved if he had security detail.
National Assembly Sports Committee members led by Yatta MP Robert Basil said it was shameful that the sports ministry was talking about plans to accord the late athlete a befitting sendoff yet his security had not been taken care of while he was alive.
“Sportsmen of Kiptum’s stature are accorded VIP treatment in other countries but it is disappointing that in our country where we have several award-winning international athletes, they are not accorded protection befitting their status which makes them vulnerable to danger,” said Basil.
On his part, Turkana North MP Ekwam Nabuin urged the Ministry to come up with measures to safeguard the welfare of sportsmen who have put Kenya on the global map.
Nabuin said that sportsmen should not be celebrated only when they win but should be treated well at all times since they are marketing the country on the global scene.
