Shoe4Africa CEO Toby Tanser, mourned the fallen 1968 1,500m Olympic silver medallist Ben Jipcho, who was buried in his Kisawai home, Trans Nzoia County on Friday as a peacemaker.
In long Facebook post, Tanser wrote that Jipcho, the All Africa Games champion executed this during the 2007/08 post-election violence that rocked the country following the announcement of presidential elections.
“It is sad to lose one of our Shoe4Africa ambassadors. And what a story, he broke the world steeplechase record, won Olympic medals. Jipcho was a legend. However, the story I write about today was a memory of 2008. The clashes were raging in Kenya. The athletes wanted peace, and Shoe4Africa promoted peace with a series of events by taking a whole school of children from Eldoret and marching the kids into an IDP camp where thousands of refugees lived,” said Tanser.
He added that they had to lead the school of kids and Olympic legends came his way led by John Ngugi, former world record holder Moses Kiptanui, former Olympic champion Matthew Birir and Ben Jipcho.
“Ben had every reason not to come after he was shot in the clashes, through the knee and could hardly walk. Yet, he insisted to lead the troop of children, walking with crutches. It was such emotional but he did it for a peaceful Kenya,” wrote Tanser.