The Inspector-General of Police, John Martins Okoth Ochola has hailed his predecessor, Gen Kale Kayihura for playing a key role in encouraging sportsmen to join the police force.
“My special thanks go to IGP Emeritus General Kale Kayihura for revamping sports in the police in the year 2012. The story of how we got to the Olympics and achieved the spectacular accomplishments was as a result of his strategic guidance,”Ochola said on Monday.
Ochola’s comments came in the wake of the stellar performance by Uganda’s team at the 2020 Olympics games in Tokyo the Japanese capital.
Cheptegei and Chemutai won a gold medal each in the men’s 5,000m finals and in the women’s 3000m steeplechase race to ensure Uganda finished second among the 54 African countries and 35th overall among 206 countries that participated in the 2020 Olympics games.
According to Ochola, the athletes carried not only the Ugandan flag high but also the one for the Police force.
“I must say I am extremely delighted about the spectacular performance of our athletes. The medals helped to put our country high above countries like South Africa, Nigeria, Botswana and Ethiopia among others,”Ochola said.
“I want to personally thank IP Joshua Cheptegei who pulled off two incredible performances to become a double medalist and Special Police Constable Peruth Chemutai who made history to become the first female police athlete to win gold medal.”
In 2012, the then Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura launched a deliberate campaign to identify and recruit young and talented sportsmen into the police force as Special Police Constables and Probation Police Constables.
On Sunday, Gen Kayihura saluted the Ugandan team at the 2020 Olympics with a 16km run around his Kashagama country home in Lyantonde district.
He also reminisced the 2012 project he initiated to recruit and empower athletes in the force.
“I thank them for fulfilling beyond my wildest dreams their pledge in Kapchorwa after I challenged them that one day, we must share the Olympics gold and other medals with the legendary Kenyan athletes across the border. It is sometime back but I’m sure they still remember,” Kayihura noted.
