Govt Rolls Out New Athlete Safety Measures in Iten

Iten, in the Elgeyo Marakwet County, has long been considered the cradle of champions. Athletes from all over the world come to train in this high-altitude, awe-inspiring area.

However, underneath all this success is a troubling reality: Iten has experienced multiple murders of female athletes, and there is a deeper, systemic problem of gender-based violence within athletics as an industry.

Most notably, the murders of 2015 World Cross-Country Champion Agnes Tirop in October 2021 and Damaris Mutua, a Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete, a year later, left the athletics world shocked.

Each was allegedly murdered by their partner while in the town of Iten.

Those two murders have prompted both the Government of Kenya and international partners to take action to ensure the safety of athletes in this region.

New Standard Operating Procedures for Athletic Camps

Working with the European Union and the United Nations, the government unveiled new SOPs for training camps in the North Rift area of Kenya.

The procedures include a focus on prevention and responses to all types of gender-based violence, including how to report incidents and community participation in the process.

Three camps, 42 House KipRun, Nzima Heart Camp, and Iten Athletics Training Camp, have already implemented the guidelines, which also address cyberbullying, online harassment, and non-consensual sharing of private images.

“We want to appreciate our partners from the European Union because GBV and femicide are national problems,” said Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture and Children Services, Hannah Cheptumo.

“In Elgeyo Marakwet County, 30 per cent of women aged 15 to 49 have experienced GBV, and the government cannot tolerate it,” Cheptumo added.

Ms. Cheptumo highlighted the pressures faced by athletes, noting, “Spouses, coaches, and sponsors all push for results, and that pressure, combined with public attention, puts athletes at greater risk of abuse.”

She added that a task force report on the issue will soon go to the cabinet for action.

“The task force report was released the other day. It will head to the cabinet for discussion so we can study it and come up with actionable measures,” she said.

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International Collaboration

European Union Ambassador Henriette Geiger affirmed the EU’s commitment to fighting gender-based violence in Kenya.

“We have made progress, and as part of this mission in Elgeyo Marakwet, we have met athletes and engaged communities on the need to change perceptions about GBV,” she said.

The partnership also includes the United Nations Population Fund and the Centre for Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance (CEDGG).

Paul Masese, CEDGG Executive Director, said the SOPs were developed with input from camp stakeholders.

“Their lived experiences ensured the guidelines address the real challenges faced in athletic training camps,” he said.

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Athletes Call for More Protections

Marathoner Joan Jelimo, representing Romania and Stride for Africa, welcomed the government’s intervention but stressed the need for further action.

“We want to thank the government for stepping in, but the Sports Department should also regulate the registration, management, and operations of all the athletics camps,” she said.

She called for the establishment of safe environments for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) where they can heal and receive legal, psychological and economic assistance.

Jelimo also recommended involving retired athletes as anti-GBV champions and drawing on global best practices.

“I intend to borrow from expertise and experience from other parts of the world on how GBV among athletes has been handled,” she said.

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Faith Kipyegon with fellow athletes at the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo. PHOTO/ World Athletics