Africa-Press – Kenya. Shooters under the National Gun Owners Association have lauded the government for embracing shooting as a sport in Kenya and believe it will grow immensely because of this.
They said the sport has grown in strides this year courtesy of various local and international tournaments in the country and beyond in which Kenyans have featured prominently.
“In 2020, a lot of competitions were suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic. This year has gone favourably well; we had the IDPA Africa Championship as well as the IPSC Championship in South Africa. Next year will be different. This time the Ministry of Sports has accepted that what we are doing is sports,” safety officer and instructor Sammy Onyango said.
He added: “You see even today DCI director George Kinoti was supposed to be the chief guest but he sent his deputy. Next year, we hope the president will join us in some of our competitions. We hope we will have cabinet secretaries and other government officials joining us on the range.”
Onyango further lauded the growth of lady shooters in the game and their impressive performances on the range compared to their male instructors.
“We even have the lady shooters coming up and they nowadays even have their own ladies-only competitions. They have one more competition in Isiolo and this is a sign that this sport is no longer male-dominated. Of course, as instructors, we will be here to support them to become even better,” he said.
Regarding the country’s place on the international scene, Onyango admitted that Kenya still has a lot to learn although they are slowly coming into their own as a shooting powerhouse.
“We still need to develop certain things. Internationally, the equipment they have is more advanced because they have been practicing shooting as a sport for many years compared to 4-5 years for us. However, I am sure we will improve as time goes by,” Onyango, who has been a shooter and an instructor for six years, said.
He was speaking on Saturday afternoon during the IDPA Chairman’s Cup at Kirigiti Shooting Range in Kiambu, which brought together approximately 117 participants from across the country.
The event, held under rainy, wet conditions, was a year-ender for NGAO’s calendar of activities.
Match director Anthony Wahome described the conditions as a perfect challenge for the competition.
“Rain is always a blessing. We had planned to start at 7:15 am but the heavy rain forced us to start at 10:00 am. However, the safety officers worked hard to enable us to finish in good time,” Wahome said.
Echoing Onyango’s sentiments, he encouraged shooters to walk with their heads held high after the growth of the sports this year.
“Kenya is on the shooting map. NGAO prides itself on providing the platform for civilian firearm holders can become proficient in the use of their firearms. Next year will be electric as far as shooting competitions are concerned,” he said.
During the event, Bamburi Rifle Club’s Ibrahim Ndung’u walked home with the overall winner’s prize ahead of Geoffrey Pesa and Robert Nyamongo in second and third respectively.
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