Kipsiro is a hero – Police boss

Kipsiro produced a final kick that will live in the memories of many Ugandans sports lovers enroute to winning the men's 10,000m gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year. AFP photo

KAPCHORWA/KAMPALA. Sipi Region Police Commander, James Ruhweza, has described Moses Kipsiro as a hero for his role in fighting sexual harassment of Ugandan female runners.
Long distance star Kipsiro has been at the forefront of pushing for the prosecution of athletics coach, Peter Wemali, who was on Thursday charged with aggravated defilement of three national junior runners. The coach also infected the runners with HIV/Aids.

While Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) and some elements in Uganda Police openly defended the coach, Kipsiro stood his ground and demanded he is punished since last March when female junior runners complained to him that Wemali had sexually abused them during a national team training camp in Bukwo.
“Kipsiro is such a character. If it were another person, I am sure they would have given up because I understand there were so many challenges in getting where we are now,” Ruhweza told Saturday Monitor at his office in Kapchorwa on Thursday.

Only deployed in Sipi Region in February, Ruhweza has equally earned himself cult status in the area after he ordered the arrest of the coach, who was hitherto considered untouchable by many. Before Ruhweza intervened, the affected runners had accused previous Police leaders in the area of shielding the coach because he works with the Force.

Seeking justice
Kipsiro, a father of three daughters, though, didn’t relent as he put his career and reputation on the line in a bid to get justice for the under-age girls.
Kipsiro refused to represent Uganda at the World Cross-country Championships in China on March 28 in protest of UAF and Police’s handling of the sexual harassment case. He said he had also received a life-threatening message on his phone with Wemali as the suspected sender.

UAF seemed to suggest that Kipsiro or his close associate had sent the death threats but the runner surrendered his mobile phone to investigators in order to clear his name. The phone was only returned to him yesterday.
Although he still fears for his life, Kipsiro will put his worries aside tonight and attend the Nile-Special Uspa gala.
The event, set for Imperial Royale Hotel, will see the scribes body reward the most outstanding sportsmen from last year. And Kipsiro, Uganda’s only gold medalist (10,000m) at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland last August, will be favourite for the main award. Netballer cum basketballer, Peace Proscovia, is another top contender for the accolade alongside another hoops star Claire Lamunu and footballer Yunus Ssentamu.

Proscovia, who returned this week from England where she plays professional netball, helped Uganda qualify for the Netball World Cup and AfroBasket. Lamunu, too played an instrumental role in the Gazelles’ AfroBasket journey but is considered an outsider for this accolade just like Ssentamu.
Kipsiro won the award in 2007, 2008 and 2010.