Kiptum's house to be handed over to family

The late Kelvin Kiptum’s house which has been under construction over the last five days is set to be handed over to the family.

Engineers and workers who have been undertaking the works were Wednesday evening putting the last touches on the three-bedroom house ahead of the ceremonial handover.

President William Ruto ordered the construction of the house at Kiptum's four-care farm located at Naiberi in Uasin Gishu some 20 kilometers from Eldoret town.

Vaghjiyani Enterprises Limited which was contracted to do the works is using the latest technology of precast concrete and light gauge steel to build the house.

Precast concrete wall panels are said to be a cost-effective alternative to the brick-and-mortar walling system.

Construction using this technology is also fast and does not require as much labour.

Construction of a decent house for his family and parents was one of Kiptum's dreams this year.

Kiptum's widow Asenath Rotich told the media in an interview at his home that they were waiting for a plan for the new house before construction started.

"We had a lot of plans with him. We were set to start a business and move to a new house...I asked him about the house we were about to build, and he said he was waiting for the county to approve the building plan and everything else would be done in six months," she recounted.

Kiptum's body was on Thursday morning removed from Eldoret Hospital morgue.

He died alongside his coach Gervais Hakizimana in a road accident along Eldoret-Kaptagat road on February 11.

The body was to be escorted by a procession for about 80 km through Eldoret town to Iten grounds then to ACK-Chepkorio for a prayer service.

The funeral programme indicates that the athletes will walk for about half a kilometer escorting the hearse in Eldoret town.

The funeral service is set for Friday at Chepsamo Secondary School grounds where President William Ruto is expected to attend.

There were reports that he would be buried at his Naiberi farm.

His father mzee Samson Cheruiyot, in an earlier interview however said he would like the grave of his late son to be next to his house at Chepkorio.

Kiptum was their only child.

Athletics Kenya official Barnabas Korir said all were set for the country to give Kiptum a hero’s send-off.

"We will work closely with the family as we send off our hero," Korir said.

Last night hundreds of Eldoret residents and athletes turned up for a procession and candle lighting in honour of the fallen athlete.

They staged the procession from the Eldoret Arboretum to the Nandi Park where the candle lighting was done.