Former Kenyan athlete dies while rescuing his employer's dog

A family in Bomet County is mourning the death of their kin, a retired athlete, who died after drowning in a pool in Mexico.

 The former Kenyan athlete Josephat Kibet Ngetich drowned while attempting to rescue a dog that had accidentally fallen into a pool on Tuesday, last week.

His family back in Kenya was informed of the death of their loved ones on Thursday, last week, in what has sent shockwaves at Taabet village, Chesoen ward, Bomet Central constituency, in Bomet county.

His death has left his family in distress, and it is not clear why he chose to endanger his life to save that of the dog.

The 36-year-old athlete retired almost 14 years ago after sustaining a leg injury in 2006. The injury did not heal to allow him to resume active competition according to family members. He has not been to Kenya for the last 17 years.

Ngetich was based in the United States, before switching to Mexico where he retired and got employed with family members not clear on his life until his reported death.

Several medals and trophies take pride of place in the sitting room of his semi-permanent house, collecting dust and beckoning for attention which demonstrated that his family did not know their worth.

A dusty maroon Toyota salon vehicle said to have developed a mechanical problem is tucked in the garage at the homestead, having not been moved for the last 16 years.

The motor vehicle is the only asset the family has to show for the career of their loved one who has rested.

Several printouts of photos of the athlete in action at the prime of his career in various undated and unstated competitions and training litter the sitting room crying for attention.

It appeared that the medals and awards were moved for the first time outside on Sunday during the press conference to break news of his demise.

All the family knows is that he was a road racer having participated in 10 kilometres, 21 kilometres, but available information shows he was also a 3,000 steeplechase athlete.

Born on February 6, 1986, as per his birth certificate, Ngetich attended the nearby Taabet primary school where he sat for his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and Chesoen secondary school where he dropped out in form two.

“Before flying out of the country to the United States for his initial international exposure, he had been training at a camp in Kericho town. From there, he got a sponsor and a coach,” Mr David Ngetic, his elder brother said in an interview on Sunday 17 December.

Most of the competitions he participated in were held in South America, especially Mexico according to available records at the World Athletics.

In the Monterrey Half Marathon, Ngetich posted a time of    1:04:57 to emerge the winner in the competition held on April 17, 2005 and retained the position the following year clocking 1:03:10 on April 23, 2006.

He won the Saltillo Coahuila Half Marathon held in Saltillo on June 12, 2005, posting 1:04:24 and retained the position on June 11, 2006, clocking 1:03:49.

Ngetich was also the winner of the Belo Horizonte 10 kilometres race where he clocked 29:09 minutes on June 1, 2008, and finished in the second position in the Zapopan, Benito Jaurez Half Marathon held in Zapopan clocking 1:05.26 on March 26, 2006, among others.

The family members revealed that he left the country on October 27, 2007, when his wife was expecting their last born, and that he had not returned since then.

“He used to stay abroad for about six months where he participated in various races before returning home for at least two months and flying out again. That was the routine until 2007 when he left and never returned,” Ms Janeth Ngetich, the widow said.

Ms Ngetich however stated that the deceased used to communicate with his family members on the telephone and mostly did video calls with them with assurances that he would be back soon.

Little did the family know that they would soon be ambushed with the sad news of his demise setting in motion a struggle to bring the body back home for a re-union and subsequent burial –their humble background notwithstanding.

“So far, the only information we have is that he fell into a dam while trying to rescue a dog that went headlong into the pool of water. He drowned and his body has since been moved to a morgue awaiting post-mortem,” a moaning Ms Ngetich told journalists.

The deceased is said to have informed his family a few years ago that he had tried in vain to renew his passport to let him travel back home, with claims that his visa had expired while in Mexico and was not renewed.

“We spoke to him for the last time on November 17 a few days before our last-born son underwent the traditional rite of passage to manhood. We were hoping he would be able to travel for the ceremony, but that was not to be,” Ms Ngetich said, struggling to fight back tears while flanked by her three children.

Ms Pauline Nowa, the athlete’s mother said her last-born son was the only one that the family looked up, to change their fortunes.

“We cannot raise the Sh 3 million which is required for the body to be brought home. I sold land for him to travel to the US to compete in the races and I have nothing else left to dispose of to raise the money for airfreight of the body,” Mrs Nowa said.

Ms Nowa who was too emotional during the interview said there was nothing to show for the time her son had been abroad as the family had struggled to make ends meet.

“To imagine that after selling land and sending him abroad, he is to return in a coffin is so devastating,” Mrs Nowa, a mother of 11 children said.

She said as a family they are appealing to well-wishers to help raise the money required to bring the body home.

Deputy Speaker of the Bomet County Assembly Leonard Rotich said it was unfortunate that the former athlete had died.

“Unfortunately, this is the fifth case of a resident of Bomet county to die abroad at the prime of their lives. We need to address the issue of welfare of Kenyans studying or working abroad to curb the cases of unclear deaths,” Mr Rotich, who doubles up as the Chesoen Ward Member of the County Assembly said.

Mr Abraham Koech, the acting Chief for Chesoen Location said the family was from a very humble background and required support from all well-wishers to see them through the period of mourning.

Mr John Kimeto, Athletics Kenya (AK) Bomet branch chairman separately confirmed that the organisation had received information of the death of the athlete in Mexico.

“We have learnt that the deceased (Ngetich) lost his travel documents while in Mexico making it difficult for him to travel. However, he did not notify Athletics Kenya for intervention on the matter,” Mr Kimetto said.

He said that AK was in touch with the family in their effort to have the body brought to Kenya for burial.

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