A scandal in Uganda over alleged sex abuse of female runners deepened Thursday after it emerged the athlete who exposed the issue has been dropped from the national half-marathon team. Moses Kipsiro, a Commonwealth double gold medallist and one of Uganda's top distance runners, had been expected to race at the World Half Marathon Championships in Copenhagen on Saturday But the Daily Monitor newspaper said he has been dropped from the squad seemingly as punishment for speaking out after female runners complained of being subjected to sex abuse and harassment by a national coach. "I have been given a funny excuse," Kipsiro was quoted as saying. "If I am being punished for trying to save careers and lives of young athletes, it's unfair. But God is my judge." "I love representing my country and will do so whenever called upon," the athlete told the paper. The Daily Monitor said the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF), who have been accused of failing to take action over the alleged sex attacker, maintained they had dropped Kipsiro because he was ill and that he would be selected to run for Uganda in the future. The alleged abuse took place while Ugandan athletes -- who have emerged as tough competition for their east African rivals Kenya and Ethiopia, the global distance-running giants -- were at a training camp to prepare for this month's Africa Cross-country Championships. Ugandan runners had reportedly been afraid of speaking out publicly for fear of being reprimanded by the UAF, although Kipsiro eventually intervened -- prompting local government officials to demand a police investigation. According to Kipsiro, the coach -- who has not been named -- had allegedly told some of the women runners that they had to have sex in order to perform better. "His theory was that if a woman's private parts are wide, their legs move easily. I was so shocked," Kipsiro was quoted as saying earlier this month. "I even feel ashamed to talk about some of the things that happened in that camp." Source: AFP
GMT 22:27 2018 Thursday ,13 December
Russian swimmer Prigoda takes gold in China with new WR in men’s 200m breaststrokeGMT 11:54 2018 Tuesday ,11 December
Ajax and Bayern in tasty Champions League duel for first placeGMT 17:44 2018 Tuesday ,23 October
Russian UFC Champ Nurmagomedov’s win was "fair and square"GMT 21:29 2018 Friday ,19 October
Moscow to host 2020 European Weightlifting ChampionshipsGMT 16:48 2018 Monday ,15 October
Russian fighter Nurmagomedov may be suspended for six monthsGMT 18:14 2018 Sunday ,07 October
Russia’s Nurmagomedov crushes McGregor, defends UFC titleGMT 17:44 2018 Thursday ,04 October
Underdogs CSKA beat Real Madrid in Moscow while a man downGMT 16:40 2018 Sunday ,02 September
Unified Korean team delivers historic medals, hopesMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor