North Rift Region has emerged the best region in the Kenya Prisons, Rift Valley region sporting competition that was held at William Ole Ntimama stadium today.
Central and South Rift regions came second and third respectively in the games that included athletics, dart and volleyball.
The Rift Valley Regional Prisons Commander, Aggrey Onyango, said the participants were selected from the 39 prisons in Rift Valley, who represented their specific region.
Onyango said the annual games are held on a rotational basis where the officers pitch camp in different counties to select the best teams that would represent them in the National level.
“We hold our games in different counties so that the officers can have the pleasure of traveling and interacting with people from different cultures. In the process, they exchange ideas and learn from one another,” said the commander.
He reiterated that the best players will be joining other champions from the eight regions in the country for the National competition that will be held in Nairobi County in three weeks’ time.
“The Rift Valley region has retained the best position for several years. Though we believe that other regions are equally prepared, we expect to retain the cup in the National competitions,” he said.
The Commander highlighted that the games gave chance to guest participants (interested members of the public), who run alongside with the officers.
“We will consider those guest participants who performed extremely well during our next recruitment because we do not want to lose such talents,” he underscored.
The sporting activity, he said, is not only beneficial to the officers but also to the inmates who are part of the prison’s fraternity.
“The inmates celebrate when the officers come back with victory. This motivates them to participate in sporting activities, when they finish serving their jail term,” he said.
Narok County Executive Member-In-Charge of Sports, Robert Simotwo, thanked the games organizers for holding the activity in the County, saying it motivated many youths to engage in sporting activities.
Simotwo observed that the bonding between the prison officials and members of the public made the residents appreciate the work done by the officers more.
“The young people who see senior people in the ranks of sergeants and inspectors participating in sporting activities, are also motivated to exercise their talents,” added Simotwo.
Some of the officers awarded for their input included Senior Sergeant, Ann Too, from Eldoret Prison who was named the best coach in Volleyball, Corporal Janet Ngeno, from Bomet Prisons also was named as the best coach in sprints and Inspector of Prisons, John Kipron, from Kapsabet Prison received an award for being the best coach in long distances.
By Ann Salaton
