President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday announced that Kenya would bid to host the prestigious World Athletics Diamond League. 

While citing the international sporting events the country has hosted in the recent past including the IAAF Under-18 World Championships and the World Under-20 Championships, the President said he was proud of how Kenya’s sporting capability has developed. 

“Soon we will bid to host the Diamond League of the athletics competition. Kenya is moving forward. Our rugby teams have performed very well. Our teams at the Olympics – both the disabled category and the abled category – have brought glory to our country,” he said. 

The president was speaking at State House Nairobi when he handed over the national flag to the Kenyan team that is headed for this year’s Summer Deaflympics in the Brazilian town of Caxias do Sul. 

The games are scheduled to take place from first to the 15th of May. 

Disability is not inability

Uhuru commended the team for proving that in Kenya ‘disability is not inability.’ 

He assured the team of maximum support from the government as well as all Kenyans, expressing optimism that they will bring pride to the country. 

He added that the government is also working towards creating facilities that will continue nurturing the sporting talents in the country. 

The President urged the team to be the country’s ambassadors at the Deaflympics, saying they will not only be representing the disabled population but the whole population of 50 million Kenyans. 

“You will be out there as ambassadors of every single one of us and how you hold yourself by playing clean, how you uphold your dignity while you are out there and your discipline – all these will reflect not just on you but on your country,” the President said. 

Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed said that the team, which has been in camp since the 4th of April, has received adequate preparation and is ready to break the 2017 record of 17 medals. 

The CS said that Kenya is sending a total of 124 sports men and women to compete in five disciplines including athletics, basketball, golf, handball and football. 

Besides the usual training for the competitions, Amina said the team has also undergone sensitization on anti-doping, regulations on mental health and media relations so as to enable them to represent the country well.