Address gender violence among our sports stars

A hearse carrying the body of the late marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei drives through Eldoret, western Kenya, on September 13, 2024. [AFP]

Every country is proud when its athletics stars win titles in global championships. It is even more flattering when the stars cruise to podiums in top leagues, championships and at the ultimate stage - the Olympic Games.

However, a worrying trend of gender violence and killings targeting sportsmen and women has recently dimmed the celebration of world beaters in Kenya.

The heinous attack on Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei in Kinyoro, Trans Nzoia County on September 1, leading to her death, is another stark reminder that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is still a major threat to sports personalities in Kenya.

When world 10000m bronze medallist Agnes Tirop was killed in cold blood in Iten, one the world's most preferred training destinations on October 13, a vigorous campaign aimed at ending GBV was launched, but several women in sport have died in the hands of individuals they love.

Edith Muthoni's throat was slit days after Agnes Tirop. The following year (April 2024), Damaris Muthee's lifeless body was discovered in a house rented by her Ethiopian boyfriend in Iten.

According to investigations, the femicide cases have been attributed to love triangles and disputes over property. It has also emerged that several athletes were suffering in silence as the scourge of GBV destroys them in the privacy of their homes.

Fallen Cheptegei, family and police said, was embroiled in a bitter dispute over an eighth-acre piece of land with the suspect, Dickson Ndiema, who also died days later after the Ugandan star succumbed to petrol-fueled burns. But how many athletes are fighting over properties they acquired from their hard-earned prize money?

As they sweat during training and competitions, predators are watching their moves before befriending them. They then earn trust when they become boyfriends or girlfriends. When the predators strike, the hardworking athletes are left begging, without any property under their name, and dumped.

Following the killing of Tirop, Muthoni and Muthee, Athletics Kenya (AK) held a series of meetings at training bases, allowing athletes to air their grievances and report GBV cases.

Later, a taskforce chaired by athletics legend Catherine Ndereba was established and the team prepared a report which is awaiting implementation. Athletes are still calling for safe spaces where they can report GBV cases and issues addressed before violence.

Had the report been implemented, maybe, the silent suffering and simmering tension among athletes could have been addressed. It is not too late to revisit the recommendations of the team, to avert domestic tragedies. Counselling should also be enhanced among the athletes, where some are indeed young and vulnerable. We should not lose another athlete to gender violence.