Rift Valley Regional Commissioner (RC) Dr. Abdi Hassan has assured residents of Chepkemel area and the entire country that they will not militarize the second edition of Chepsaita Cross Country championships set for December 7th.
While addressing the media during the security meeting on Thursday afternoon, Hassan said that the day is meant for family and people of all walks of life. “We shall be here to ensure that this particular event succeeds. We shall be working with the federation to minimize the athletes from intimidation by the many uniforms around,” he said.“We are here from Nakuru, the regional Security team to join the team on the ground to support Athletics Kenya and the local organizing committee in terms of preparations for the upcoming race. We are satisfied with the arrangements of place and we shall continue fine tuning to have successful championships,” said Hassan. He said that they have looked at all areas and areas of concerns, assuring that they will work closely to achieve the objective are realized in a very successful way.
“The brains behind this event has come at the right time and at the periphery of this county that will benefit neighbours in Kakamega and Nandi that will bring people together, which is a good cohesion. It will serve an objective of unity, co-existence and that is a key matters in the society. It has also underlined education, health, sports and we are known for prowess in athletics to ensure we remain where we are,” added the RC.
He said that any risks that will arise, bringing disharmony will be dealt with especially alcohol among others vices to ensure that there is order before, during and after the event.
Race Secretary General Kennedy Tanui said that the security is playng and shall play a critical role.
“We want to assure resident that Chepsaita is safe for all and I want to urge Kenyans to continue registering through the portal. As earlier said, we shall not over militarize the event and we shall be in contact with our security officers. It will be a family event for them to enjoy the championships,” said Tanui.