Athletics Kenya (AK) has postponed the Lotto National Cross Country Championships that were to be held this Saturday at Nairobi’s Uhuru Gardens in honour of the late former President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi.
However, the opening leg of the KCB Kenya National Rally Championship (KNRC) planned for Sunday at the scenic Kajiado and Machakos Counties will go on as scheduled.
A statement from Riadha House, the AK headquarters, disclosed that championships that will be used to select a team for the Africa Cross Country Championships will now be staged on February 15 at a venue to be confirmed later.
President Moi, who passed away on Tuesday morning at the Nairobi Hospital, will be buried next Wednesday at Kabarak, Nakuru.
“Following the development, we at Athletics Kenya would like to join fellow Kenyans in mourning the former president, whose love for sports was immeasurable,” the AK statement said.
SELECT A STRONG SQUAD
“We have, therefore, decided to shelve our plans to host the championships.”
However, AK urged all athletes to continue training hard for this important event in which they intend to select a strong squad for the Africa Cross Country Championships set for April 8 in Lome, Togo. “We apologise to the athletes and their respective team managements for the inconveniences,” explained the statement.
Teams that were to start converging on Nairobi today will now report from Thursday next week for the meet.
Elsewhere, Kenya Motor Sports Federation (KMSF) chairman Phineas Kimathi said the Guru Nanak Rally in Kajiado and Machakos will go on since it will not interfere with anything and that a lot of planning had taken place.
Both AK and KMSF had on Tuesday paid glowing tribute to President Moi for his immense contribution to the development of sports in the country.
Speaking separately from his base in Texas, USA, Kenya’s 1988 Olympic 800 metres champion Paul Ereng said Mzee Moi was instrumental in his development as an athlete, paying for his travel to USA for the first time.
“I wish to send my condolences to the family of His Excellency the late President Moi,” Ereng said from Texas where he’s the associate head track and field coach at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).
“President Moi bought me a ticket to travel to the USA for my studies in 1987 when I was heading to the University of Virginia. One year later, I came back for the Olympic trials then proceeded to the Games and later, life was never the same,” said Ereng who won the 800m gold in one minute, 43.55 seconds, relegating legends Joaquim Cruz (Brazil) and Said Aouita (Morocco) to silver and bronze.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Sports Culture and Heritage extolled the virtues of Mzee Moi, describing him as a key player in the development of sport in Kenya.
The ministry, through Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed, praised President Moi’s focus on sports infrastructure development.
“His inspiring foresight for the future of our country offered us hope for united, peaceful, hardworking and free nation where every citizen was encouraged to take part in active nation-building,” a statement from the ministry sent to newsrooms yesterday said.
“Kenya is known as a sporting nation, and in regard to this His Excellency the late former President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi played a pivotal role in supporting sporting activities by putting up infrastructure to meet the international standards.
“This boosted morale of our Kenyan sportsmen and women placing Kenya on the world map,” the statement said, highlighting the former president’s biggest legacy as including “the construction of the Nyayo National Stadium in 1983, Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, in 1987, establishment of the Department of Sports in 1987 and, finally, the successful hosting of the Fourth All Africa Games in 1987.
The ministry also paid tribute to Mzee Moi for his role in the development of cultural activities.
“One of his major legacies in the cultural field was the establishment of the Department of Culture vide a Presidential Decree in 1980 to consolidate the place of culture in national development.”
“It is through the cultural realm that he advocated for people-centred development while promoting positive cultural values, especially with regard to African values as an instrument to define our true African identities while appreciating our diversities,” the statement said.