Friday
May 20, 2011
May 20, 2011
Athletics
JARED NYATAYA | NATION Mr Elijah Kipng’etich Chebon, 50, a building and construction designer at Baringo County Council on May 19, 2011. Mr Chebon said he was marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru’s biological father.
By JONATHAN KOMEN jkomen@kenationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, May 19 2011 at 22:00
Posted Thursday, May 19 2011 at 22:00
A man who says he has been making frantic efforts to reach out to the “biological son” he sired in 1986 at Naromoru village near Nanyuki emerged on Thursday.
Mr Elijah Kipng’etich Chebon, 50, of Baringo North, who claims to be the father of fallen Olympic marathon champion Samuel Wanjiru, made his claim as the world mourned the super star’s death last Monday.
We visited Mr Chebon — a building and construction designer — at his Baringo county council hall office in Kabarnet Town.
Soft spoken and confident, Mr Chebon narrated to the Nation his life with Wanjiru’s mother, saying he met her between 1985 and early 1986.
“I met Hannah in December 1985 outside William Woods Conservancy near Mount Safari Club as I took a walk after work one evening. She lived at the then sprawling Kwambusi village which was mainly occupied by squatters,” said the tall and lithe Mr Chebon.
He says he and Hannah eventually engaged in a relationship.
There were no easy means of communication then but they could keep in touch — thanks to a telephone booth outside William Woods gate.
“She would come to the booth to call me,” said Mr Chebon, who comes from Pemwai village in Baringo North.
He clearly recalls the call box number as 22978. After a few months, he says, he went for four months’ training in Isiolo and later returned to Nanyuki due to poor health.
But before this, Chebon says, he sensed that Hannah was expectant.
“This is where I lost touch with her,” said the former runner.
It was only after Wanjiru won the Beijing Olympics – 22 years later – that Chebon found a lead to getting in contact with Hannah.
He said all efforts to meet the boy were, however, in vain.
“I then began to look for Wanjiru’s cellphone number and eventually got it,” Mr Chebon said.
“I told him that I am his biological father. Thereafter I started to send him SMSs to which he did not respond,” he said.
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