- African Sports Legends
We see them shine at the Olympics, at football World Cups and in athletics, among others.
Sportsmen and women from Africa have broken new ground in their different sporting codes worldwide.
We shall be profiling some of the African great sportspeople. We shall in consultation with the sports desk we shall commission some of our correspondents to find these personalities and have one-on-one interviews on their journey(s) through sports. We shall use the hashtag #AfricanLegends while sharing the stories.
- Kipchoge Keino, Kenya
Kipchoge Keino defines the word “inspiration”. He is a two-time Olympic gold-medallist and he is one of the first in a long distance of powerful long-distance runners from Kenya. Keino was born in Kipsamo, Nandi District, Kenya. Both of his parents died while he was young. He was then brought up by his aunt. After finishing school, he joined the Kenya Police. Before taking up athletics, he played rugby. In 1987, he shared Sports Illustrated magazine’s “Sportsmen and Sportswomen of the Year” award with seven others, characterized as “Athletes Who Care”, for his work with orphans. His son Martin Keino was a two-time NCAA champion and highly successful pace-setter. Martin now works as a sports marketer.
- Augustine Azuka “Jay-Jay” Okocha, Nigeria
Okocha was so good they named him twice, Jay-Jay. He has been widely regarded as the best Nigerian football player of his generation and one of the greatest African players of all time. Okocha was known for his pace on the ball, technique, creativity, and dribbling skills, as well as his use of feints, in particular the stepover. In 1996, Okocha became a member of an arguably more successful Nigerian side, their Olympic gold winning side at the Atlanta Games, later nicknamed Dream Team by the Nigerian press after the USA 1992 Olympic gold winning basketball team. In March 2004, he was named one of the top 125 living footballers by Pelé. Alex Iwobi, the young Arsenal attacking midfielder and Jay-Jay’s nephew has on several occasions mentioned how his uncle has had an effect on how he plays football.
- Maria Mutola, Mozambique
At 15 she was already on the world stage, coming 5th at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1990, at 17, she took gold at the African Championships. Maria is now a retired female track and field athlete. She was born in Maputo, hence the nickname of “The Maputo Express”. She is the only athlete ever to hold Olympic, World, World indoor, Commonwealth, Continental Games and Continental Championships titles in the same event.
- Mahmoud El Khatib, Egypt
He was named Arab Sportsman of the 20th century. El Khatib, popularly nicknamed Bibo, is a former Egyptian football player. He is also known to be the best Egyptian Player in the history of the game. El Khatib was selected to be a member of the International Committee for Fair Play after playing 450 domestic and international games without being reprimanded once. In 2007 “Bibo” was named the second best African Footballer in the last 50 years by the Confederation of African Football.
- Dikembe Mutombo
He is a Congolese American retired professional basketball player who played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Outside basketball, he has become known for his humanitarian work. He began his career with the Georgetown Hoyas and has been regarded as one of the greatest shot blockers and defensive players of all time, winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award four times; he was also an eight-time All-Star. At the conclusion of the 2009 NBA playoffs, Mutombo announced his retirement. Mutombo attended Georgetown University on a USAID scholarship with an aim of becoming a doctor but was recruited by the Georgetown Hoyas basketball coach.
- Makhaya Ntini, South Africa
Ntini’s story started in Mdingi, a small village in Cape Province where he bowled bare-foot, and ended with more than a hundred Tests for South Africa. Ntini was first spotted by a Boland Cricket Board development officer, who was instantly impressed with the cowherd’s enthusiasm and pace. Ntini was immediately sent to the Queenstown junior cricket festival, where he got his first pair of boots. He was the first ethnically black player to play for the South African team.
- Exploring Lamu
Lamu is a small town on Lamu Island, which in turn is a part of the Lamu Archipelago in Kenya, 341 km by road northeast of Mombasa that ends at Mokowe Jetty from where the sea channel has to be crossed to reach Lamu Island. It is the headquarters of Lamu County and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Clementine Logan is in Lamu and we have commissioned her amongst the other stories she is doing, to see if she can get stories exclusive for new media. Other stories shall be handled by the team. Our hashtag on this will be #LamuTales.
[Reporting Plan]
Top 5 spots to visit when in Lamu
She will take time to look places one can visit and tell us a little information about them using both pictures and text; Lamu old town, fort, swahili house, German post office, Yumbe former house of a Sultan.
Water transport
She will get a bit of video on a dhow and an interview maybe with a captain.
Other stories the team will look at include:
- History of Lamu
-Where is it located?
-How does the island’s history affect those living there?
- Cuisine unique to the Island
– Any food market available? Clem can send us pictures of goods sold at the market.
- Artefacts
– She can send us pictures of any artefacts that stand out and those that are associated with people who live in those areas.
- Social activities
– We shall look at what activities residents of the island involve in mostly during leisure time?
– Explore the bao game, who plays this and why, what role does the game play in the community?
– making of the Swahili hat. Who makes them and why them. We shall find out from Clem if we can get demonstration video and pictures?
