Kelvin Kiptum's Parents Lament Challenges Despite Promises: "Tumezuiliwa Tukitaka Kuongea"

 

Parents of the late marathoner Kelvin Kiptum have shared their struggles amid unfulfilled promises. Kelvin Kiptum's parents say prominent people have been locking them from speaking out about their struggles.  When Kiptum died in a road accident, his father, mzee Samson Cheruiyot, lost the only child he had. A look into the eyes of the late marathoner's parents shows their pain and struggles. Are Kiptum's parents suffering? Cheruiyot dreamed of living next to his son's grave. 

The government fulfilled this dream by building a house for Kiptum's widow, Asenath Rotich, and his parents.  After the funeral of the late Kiptum, Cheruiyot revealed that he and his wife had been facing challenges.  He shared that he and his wife have been planning to speak about their struggles for a while. Kiptum's dad said he and his wife were blocked from speaking of their challenges. 

"I am Kelvin Kiptum's father, and I am here with his mother. What we want to say to Kenyans is a simple request. The situation we are in would be better expressed than kept silent, because we had tried to reach out to people on social media, but it was blocked. However, we wonder if we atre suffering; wouldn’t it be better if we just said it?," he rhetorically asked. 

The elderly man revealed, for starters, that his household did not have a toilet, and they found it hard to manoeuvre whenever they had guests. What are the challenges Kiptum's parents are facing? Two, they do not have a store to keep their grains. He lamented that the maize they had planted was nearing harvesting and wondered where they would keep them. "First, when our child passed away, we never imagined we would face such hardship. Even now, we are struggling. We don’t have toilet, and whenever someone visits, we worry about how they will manage. Secondly, our maize is ready in the fields, but we’re uncertain where we will store it when it’s time to harvest. 

Lastly, drinking water is a constant challenge. We have to pay for a tractor to deliver water, and this has become an enormous burden. We kindly appeal to my late son’s friends please come and see what we are going through, because these struggles are overwhelming," he shared. Kiptum's mum said her son would be shocked if he woke up from his grave and found his parents suffering. She said: "Truly, we have faced many challenges. Even now, when I am in the kitchen during the rainy season, water seeps through.

 I have cried so much, yet if my son, World Champion Kiptum, were here to see the kitchen, he would be shocked and wonder if it really belonged to his parents or someone else. We have truly suffered. You know, Kiptum was our only child, the one we relied on. He took care of us." 

by  Patricia Tonui