Sport

Peace and healing race in Nairobi.

23 Apr, 2008

Top Kenyan athletes and residents of the poor areas of Kibera and Dagoretti west of Nairobi city centre will be running side by side on 27 April to promote reconciliation and healing following the recent post-election violence. There will be three separate races, 15 km for professionals, 5 km for under 17s and 2 km for under 13s; participants will include five-times world cross country champion and former marathon record-holder Paul Tergat and veteran athlete John Ngugi. The races will start at 09.00 from Jamhuri Park show ground, which provided refuge for hundreds of families living in Kibera and Dagoretti during the unrest.

The event is being sponsored by African health development organisation AMREF in conjunction with the Austrian embassy, Celtel Kenya and Swiss International. Kibera and Dagoretti saw some of the worst violence in the capital following the disputed presidential election of December 2007.