Another great loss to the running community, with Wesly Ngetich, two-time winner of Grandma's Marathon, dying today from an arrow wound in the Kenyan violence. Article follows.
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/articles/index.cfm?id=58630
Best Regards on this sad day,
Swedish 5K Runner
Very sad...
Terrible terrible news. I hope this violence ends soon, but fear it will not.
Article in the New York Times today hinting that the violence was orchestrated by the political parties prior to the elections.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/21/world/africa/21kenya.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
Another article:
http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2008/01/athlete-ngetich-perishes-in-ongoing-kenyan-violence/
He was set to run PF Changs RnR Marathon and was unable to get out due to the violence.
What a waste.
bump
lets pray for the people of kenya.
The provincial nature on display on this thread is sickening. People are dying, and the violence is horrific, but it's ok b/c they're only Kenyans??? Can you people actually look yourselves in the mirror in the morning?
What is happening in Kenya is a tragedy. May everyone over there, runner or not, keep safe and may this all end soon. I'm not a praying man, but you're in my thoughts.
peace,
dt
Well said dtbrooklyn ...
Mine as well.
Man o man these deaths are sad. Except for the occasional idiot, I'd say most of us on this board are full of admiration for the accomplishments of Kenya's runners, and impressed as people by those Kenyans we've had a chance to meet. It was only a few months ago that we were sharing Wejo's enjoyment over his visit to what seemed to be a poor but entirely decent country. And now this...
Can anyone offer more insight on what the heck is going on over there?
Thanks for your thoughts!
dtbrooklyn wrote:
The provincial nature on display on this thread is sickening. People are dying, and the violence is horrific, but it's ok b/c they're only Kenyans??? Can you people actually look yourselves in the mirror in the morning?
What is happening in Kenya is a tragedy. May everyone over there, runner or not, keep safe and may this all end soon. I'm not a praying man, but you're in my thoughts.
peace,
dt
It's fine to use people for business when it is appropriate and there is mutual respect. Sometimes a business can go wrong, and then it's time for a gut check. What has this business done to help this situation?
After filing my original story, I discovered that the date of birth I had referenced was wrong. Ngetich was born Dec. 15, 1977, so he was only 30 at the time of his death.
A terrible story which is now even worse...
David Monti, Race Results Weekly
Isn't this the same place that we were to send our Juniors? Good call.
This is an absolute tragedy! I've ran Grandma's Marathon the past five years and I always looked at Wesly in a state of awe. He was an absolutely amazing runner. And this civil war in Kenya is very discouraging... We can only hope the violence ends soon!
Imagine a lynch mob mentality that's turned into a pandemic. Here's an excerpt from NY Times story (link above) that should horrify everybody:
On a recent day, a dozen young men with faces smeared with mud stepped out of the forest near the small town of Keringet.
They were from the Kalenjin ethnic group and said they had killed 20 people this month. They were armed with bows, arrows, clubs and knives. Some wore animal skins with cellphones tucked in the folds.
Rono Kibet, one of the men, said elders in his community called a big meeting on Dec. 30. That was the night that Kenya’s election results were announced, giving Mr. Kibaki the victory over Raila Odinga, the top opposition leader, despite widespread evidence of vote rigging. More than 2,000 young men gathered, Mr. Kibet said, and the elders urged them to kill Kikuyus, Mr. Kibaki’s ethnic group, and burn down their houses. The Kalenjin had fought them before.
“The community raised the money for the gasoline,” Mr. Kibet said.
He explained how the elders blessed the young men, who then split into teams of 50 to hunt down Kikuyus with bows and arrows. He did not feel bad about shooting them, he said.
“We attack people, we burn their homes and then we take their animals,” Mr. Kibet said matter-of-factly.
...Mr. Kibet, the Kalenjin fighter, explained how at 14 he was sent into the forest for a few months to be circumcised and learn the ways of his people. He was taught how to shoot a bow and crack a skull with a wooden club. He described a transformation that he and his friends routinely make, shedding their jeans and day jobs for war paint and clubs.
“The Kikuyu are our enemy because they are on our land,” he said. “It is not good to kill their women or children. But to kill one of their men, that is an achievement.”
And now the other side:
A few villages away and a couple of hours later, Kikuyu farmers scanned the hilltops with a pair of old field glasses that never seemed quite in focus. They carried homemade guns built of wood, water pipes and umbrella springs, highly illegal but highly necessary, they said.
Some of the sentinels were among the most educated people in the area. One, Wilson Muiruri, a University of Nairobi student, was spending his Christmas holiday moonlighting as a warrior.
“I don’t hate Kalenjins at the university,” he said. “But out here, it’s different.”
This is, so getting out of hand. It's too bad that people get caught up in this kind of violence. This man did nothing to these people who killed him. It's a shame what this world is coming to. If only we could prevent these tragedies.
Thoughts and prayers for him and his family.
Karina Mancias wrote:
It's a shame what this world is coming to. If only we could prevent these tragedies.
because it's been wonderful until recently...
...and i'm sure you would work day and night to stop this.
yes wrote:
...and i'm sure you would work day and night to stop this.
Why are you attacking people who post on a subject that has nothing to do with you? I clicked on this thread to hopefully read some nice comments about a great runner. I hoped to possibly hear from people that had raced or crossed paths with this man in their lives. Instead, I read your crap. I never understand what possesses someone to attack another without any provocation...but such is the way of an anonymous message board. Thanks for adding a lot to this thread man.
RIP Wesly
Karina Mancias wrote:
Thoughts and prayers for him and his family.
Won't do a damn bit of good, except maybe for your own conscience.
