Former President and Kenya Golf Union (KGU) chairman Mwai Kibaki delivers a speech during a recent golf function. He officially opened the East Africa Golf Championships at the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort today.

KIBAKI’S OFFICIAL SPEECH

It gives me great pleasure to join you at this important occasion Kenya is this year’s host to the prestigious East Africa Golf Challenge. This year’s is the fifteenth edition of this great challenge attended by golfers from six countries in the region. And as always, hosting this special event is a moment of profound joy and pride.

To our friends from the rest of East Africa and to my fellow Kenyans, welcome! Your presence, and in particular the confidence you have shown in our country, demonstrates Kenya’s enduring appeal as a destination.

Besides, it signifies your confidence in our region’s future despite the hiccups visited upon us recently by enemies of peace and harmonious coexistence. Our resilience as a nation and indeed as a region is greatly boosted by this confidence.

It is through this kind of resolve to proceed with an event such as todays that we signal to those bent on disrupting our normal routine that we are focused on greater things.  So thank you very much for this gesture.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As would be expected, the Kenya Golf Union is extremely delighted to play host to this regional challenge. Firstly and for good measure, I have no doubt that participants will enjoy playing at the Great Rift Valley Golf Resort. This as you will shortly see is a beautiful golf course set on one of the world’s most remarkable geographical features – the Great Rift Valley.

Secondly, one is impressed to note that this event continues to showcase East Africa’s top cream amateurs. I, therefore, unreservedly congratulate the Members of East Africa Golf Federation for consistently organising this worthwhile regional event year in, year out.

The East Africa Golf Challenge provides an ideal opportunity for Sports Diplomacy, and if you will, Golf Diplomacy. Among golfing ambassadors gathered here today is a rich array of cultural gems that should count in defining our region’s unique and richly bedecked character.

The imprints of our common ancestry and destiny are tattooed in the men and women from across East Africa present here today. I am certain that just as this golf challenge has succeeded for 15 straight years, we can and will achieve the ideals set for the East African Community.

In this event I see the signs of great success in the realisation of one of the most important goals of the East African community namely, free movement of people and goods across the entire region.

Back to golf. Sport is an employer, a healthy habit and exponent of the values of teamwork, discipline, integrity and the quest to achieve personal goals. All of us can readily testify that sports are also an enduring source of collective glory and global recognition.

With such loaded benefits, it is gratifying to see sporting accorded its rightful place in our society’s development agenda. Sports are an excellent way of branding people. Whole communities, nations and even regions have carved their identities through sporting.

Therefore, our sportsmen and women are rightfully our resources. We must treat them as such. Moreover, we should aspire to make sure that our respective nations and our region derive a concrete identity from sporting, golfing included.

An event of this magnitude and significance takes a lot of effort to organise. In recognition of this fact, I wish to pay special tribute to all the key institutions involved in organising this event and particularly the Kenya Golf Union. To others, who in their own way, have faithfully continued supporting this event and making it the annual attraction it is, your good work is never lost.

Let me also express my special gratitude to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, Scotland, for their commitment in supporting golf in general and this event in particular. Your role is remarkable and praiseworthy.

I also thank local corporate sponsors, among them, Keroche Breweries and Mumias Sugar Company for their unfailing support. As we expand our horizons, I urge you to consider supporting more of this and similar events in the future in order to lift golfing standards in the country and also in the region.

As we extend our heartfelt regards to the Great Rift Valley Golf Resort as the host ground for this tournament, may I wish all the participants an enjoyable tournament. It is now my pleasure to declare the 15th East Africa Challenge officially open.

Thank you and God Bless You

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A sign post showing the direction of Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort, the venue of the regional tournament.

By DONALD WELLINGTON

The wait is finally over as the Kenyan players take to the course tomorrow to defend the East Africa Golf Challenge Cup at the Great Rift Valley Golf Resort in Naivasha where they will be against five other countries.

Tomorrow’s first round will see players take each other in a singles competition in the morning. All the countries namely Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia being represented by teams of eight players had all registered with the East Africa Golf Confederation by Monday evening ready for the high profile championship, following the official opening ceremony by retired President Mwai Kibaki who is the also the patron of the Kenya Golf Union (KGU).

The afternoon function was, however, delayed for an hour due to un expected rain. All the teams including new-comers Ethiopia are fielding strong teams though being at home Kenya who are also the defending champions starts as the hot favourite to claim the cup.

The home team is made-up of five juniors namely Daniel Nduva, Mathew Wahome, Adel Balala and Tahir Mohamed.

The seniors in the home line-up include three of the players who formed Kenya’s team for the just concluded All Africa Amateur Team Championship in Swaziland namely John Karichu, Tony Omuli, and Robinson Owiti, who were joined in return by Justus Madoya of the Great Rift Valley, and William Odera of Kericho.

Team coach Anil Shah who is being assisted by the Great Rift Valley Resort professional Ajay Shah said the players had trained on Sunday, Monday and yesterday and that they were set for the event.

“We have gone through all the formats and I believe we have the strongest side in this year’s tournament though this is a matchplay event and it is more or less an individual ability’’ said Shah. He said the course was playing well though it required one to keep the ball straight in order to win a match, adding that teams from Uganda and Tanzania were equally strong having brought players most of whom were in the same tournament in Burundi last year.

“Our players did well in the just concluded All Africa Championship most of who are well known here in Kenya as they have featured in the many of the local events’’ said Uganda’s Coach Deo Akope. Among his top players include Willy Kitata who lost to Nelson Simwa in the Kenya Amateur Matchplay Championship, Adolf Muhumuza who was eighth in the individual title during the All Africa in Swaziland, Philip Kasozi, and youngster Daniel Baguma.

The stars in the Tanzania line-up are Nuru Mollel, John Saidi, Victor Joseph, John Leonce, and Abass Saidi. Team coach Olais Michael Mollel said his players were starving for the cup.

“ This cup has eluded us for a number of years now, but this time we have a strong team and we are going for nothing short of the title’’ said Mollel. The four-day championship which marks its 15^thyear is being sponsored by Keroche Industries supported by Mumias Sugar among others. The first round draw was due to be done soon after the official opening ceremony. pandora charms uk pandora charms uk