The athletes passed a message to the world that they were peace loving Kenyans and having been the country’s ambassadors to various destinations in the world, they would be the last people to be found in the list of tribal or racial discrimination.

Addressing an international press conference at the Eldoret’s Kipchoge Stadium, the retired and active athletes distanced themselves from claims that certain active and retired athletes helped hold meetings and funded warriors to cause mayhem against members of the Kikuyu and Kisii communities.

“I am shocked with what appears in a section of the papers to the effect that some athletes in this region helped to fund warriors to cause chaos in the country,” said a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kipchoge Keino.

Keino who is also the chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK) said to the best of his knowledge and having advanced capacity of meeting athlete trainers and trainees frequently, there was no time meetings were held by retired or active athletes ostensibly to perpetuate chaos.

“I don’t want to appear like I am defending anybody but to the best of my knowledge there is a wider scheme to antagonize athletes from Kenya with the rest of the world including Kenyan tribes and security forces,” said Kipchoge who had just arrived from Russia on Thursday night.

Daniel Komen, Moses Kiptanui, Moses Tanui, Noah Ng’eny, Japheth Kptanui, Patrick Sang, Yobes Ondiek, Kimtai Kosgei andwere among a host of junior and senior international athletes who addressed the Press Conference.

Kipchoge said that post election violence had caused athletes unwarranted psychological torture because many did not train as usual and majority of their colleagues from abroad whom they train together with left the country.

“Many athletes come from poor backgrounds and for those who have been blessed to get something small have joined training camps to assist upcoming athletes and they cannot spend the same funds in funding illegal activities in the country,” said Kipchoge.

The athletes called on the police to launch massive investigations to ascertain the truth of the claims.

See the whole Tip-to-Annan series

See videos on post-election Kenya and on the whole election coverage
See the Kenya Protest - Day One photo gallery
See The Kenya Protest - Day Two photo gallery
See the Nakuru displaced photo gallery
See the burial of violence victim photo gallery


Keywords: kenya_elections sport