Africa-Press – Kenya. On Saturday, Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba joined the country to raise money for ailing footballer Ezekiel Otuoma.
The talented striker who once featured for AFC Leopards, Western Stima, and Ulinzi Stars has since hung up his boots to focus on treatment.
Otuoma’s wife, Rachel, disclosed that her husband’s problem started in November last year. What began as a simple fever, turned into the dreaded Neuron disease.
Despite donations from friends and well-wishers, his condition worsened and efforts to seek treatment at local health centres ended in more despair. He has been rendered jobless and his wife is now struggling to make ends meet.
Otuoma’s situation brings to the fore an important issue — that of the welfare of Kenyan sportsmen who find themselves facing serious financial challenges.
Famous sportsmen in Kenya have been known to venture into extreme poverty before dying of misery.
Just last week, the athletics fraternity in the country plunged into mourning following the death of Kenya’s first Olympic Games medalist, Wilson Kiprugut Chumo.
The legendary Kenyan sprints and middle-distance sensation breathed his last in Kericho County after a long illness. He was 84 years old at the time of his death.
Chumo wrote a new page in history by becoming the first African to win an Olympic medal when he won bronze in the 800 meters at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games.
He won a silver medal in the double lap at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico and grabbed headlines with two gold medals in the 400 and 800 meters at the first All-Africa Games held in Brazzaville, Congo in 1965.
The following year, he clinched a bronze medal in the 880 yards at the Commonwealth Games held in Kingston, Jamaica.
On October 20, legendary featherweight boxer Philip Waruinge died at the age of 77. He too had put Kenya on the world map during his reign in the ring.
Waruinge stormed to two gold medals at the 1966 and 1970 Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.
In both cases, the athletes seemed to endure financial hardships in their twilight years despite the glory they brought to the nation.
Fortunately, clear efforts are being made to spare Kenyan athletes from the pain of financial challenges with CS Namwamba spearheading a robust campaign to change the situation of local athletes.
“We must establish a sustainable framework for the welfare of our sportspeople and artists in retirement and adversity,” Namwamba said.
On October 22, Athletics Kenya Chief Administrative Officer Susan Kamau called on Kenyan athletes to register for the pension scheme.
While emphasizing AK’s desire to protect retired athletes from financial problems caused by illness and old age, Kamau cited cases where athletes faced problems after retirement.
As painful as it may sound, some athletes have been known to recklessly squander their earnings on women and alcohol instead of investing in profitable businesses.
During an interview with a local TV channel, former world marathon champion Haile Gebrselassie said there is nothing as fleet-footed as money.
The Ethiopian legend has led by example after establishing a vast business empire using his earnings from the track.
Indeed, local sports administrators ought to conceive ways of enlightening athletes about the importance of investing in the future.
One way would be to organize a workshop and invite resource persons who have a deep capacity to provide effective knowledge on finance and investment.
Athletes can effectively manage their finances to achieve security and independence during and after their careers. They should start saving their income and insure themselves at a young age.
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