Kenya has given the sporting world some of its best distance runners. The Kenyan marathon runners, the overwhelming majority of them, come from impoverished families. In due course of their success as massive wealth comes pouring in their kitty as is common with all international athletes they began investing in farmlands and real estates commanding a noteworthy portion of the Kenyan economy. No longer satisfied with financial influence the athletes of Kenya’s Rift Valley largely belonging to the Kalenjin tribe have begun harboring political interest. Feeling marginalized with the rise of the Kikuyu tribe headed by President Kibaki of Kenya, the Kalenjin athletes, taking advantage of their celebrity status have assumed the roles of tribal elders. They have been alleged to have organized attacks against rival Kikuyus.
Two Kenyan athletes Wesley Ngetich and Lucas Sang have died in the ethnic clashes. Not only is there a group of athletes who are alleged to have led clashes but some believe that the militant training that these athletes are offering to their fellow tribesmen cannot be ruled out as a self-defense measure. In fact, a number of elite runners in the country have been forced to cut training after receiving death threats in the wake of allegations against them for fomenting post-election violence in Kenya. The impact the runners feel will adversely affect their performance at the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh in March and the Beijing Olympics in August.
The area around Eldoret with its terrain and cool climate ideal for training has seen the worst ethnic clashes since Kibaki was reelected as President on December 30. Resentment in the Rift Valley had been simmering for decades. Favored by Kenya’s first president Jomo Kenyatta the Kikuyus bought up land vacated by the white settlers in the Rift Valley marginalizing the Kalenjins to whom historically the land belonged. The Kalenjins supported the opposition candidate Raila Odinga in the last month’s election.
Source: Times Online
Image: Chasing Kimbia
