Olympic Champion Joshua Cheptegei urges Ugandan athletes in Kenya to return home

By Robert Mutasi 

Olympic champion Joshua Cheptegei made an impassioned appeal to Ugandan athletes resident in Kenya to return home during the sombre burial ceremony of his sister Rebecca Cheptegei.

Cheptegei reiterated that challenges should be solved within the country's borders and that he did not want to see such a gathering for a tragic reason.

"All Ugandan athletes in Kenya should come back home. We don't want to come back here again for a similar function," Cheptegei said, as quoted by Uganda's Daily Monitor.

This has come at a critical time when many Ugandan athletes chase training opportunities across the border in Kenya, particularly in the high-altitude areas that have churned out world-class distance runners.

That, however, has made Kenya a hub for elite athletes, and several Ugandans have opted to camp there to take advantage of the conditions.

But the plea by Cheptegei indicates deep concern for the welfare and future of Ugandan sportsmen and women abroad, especially given the personal loss he has suffered.

Cheptegei's impassioned cry was supported by Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports, Kipchumba Murkomen, who appealed to the government and communities that it was incumbent upon them to ensure their sports icons were safe and sound.

This, Murkomen said while addressing the tragic circumstances of Rebecca's death, whose case became unknown even to the government and the local community.

"We are guilty as government, but the community is equally guilty. They knew what Rebecca was going through with her boyfriend, but nobody reported it," Murkomen said, demanding more vigilance and community involvement in these issues of abuse and domestic violence.

The burial of Rebecca Cheptegei, which was graced by relatives, friends, and government officials, has thrown into the limelight the personal struggles of athletes, often camouflaged by their success in the public.