Friday, November 15, 2024 - The parents of the late world marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum have come forward to speak out on their dire living conditions nine months after his tragic passing, despite the government promising to look into their welfare.
Kiptum, who captured global attention after running an extraordinary 2:00:35
marathon in October 2023, passed away in February 2024 in a car accident.
Kiptum’s father, Samson
Cheruiyot, a pastor from Chepsamo village in Elgeyo Marakwet County, shared the
family’s hardships in a recent video circulating online.
“What I want to tell Kenyans is to help us, as the situation is not good. We
tried reaching out to online bloggers, but we were blocked, and we don’t know
why,” Cheruiyot lamented.
In the months following
Kiptum’s death, they say they have received little more than a
government-constructed house on their farm—a gesture they appreciate but say is
insufficient to meet their daily needs.
“When our son died, we
did not expect to live in such hardship,” Kiptum’s father continued.
“We have no toilet, we have nothing. We have grains on the farm, but we don’t
know where to store them once we harvest. We don’t have access to pumped water;
we usually hire a tractor to deliver it, but now we can no longer afford it,”
he added.
Kiptum’s mother, too,
described the relentless challenges they face without their son’s support,
voicing frustration and sorrow over the unexpected hardship.
“We have faced many challenges,” she said.
‘’I don’t have a proper kitchen, so I cook outside, and the structure leaks. If my son could rise from the grave today, he would have so many questions. We have suffered. Kiptum was our only child and was taking care of us,’’ she added.
Parents Of The Late Marathoner Kelvin Kiptum Blast Ruto's Government Over Botched Promises pic.twitter.com/RAIhWVeo5i
— DAILY POST 🇰🇪 (@dailypost_ke) November 15, 2024
The
Kenyan DAILY POST.
.){kind=link}
0 Comments