The burial ceremony for James Tirop, who served as Sports Commissioner between 1997-1999, was held on Saturday at his home in Kipkenyo, Uasin Gishu County.
Tirop started his career in 1965 as a teacher at St. Patrick’s Iten where he taught until 1966 before he transferred to Embu where he served for a few months.
He taught alongside the late Kijana Wamalwa, former Vice President of the Republic of Kenya.
During his tenure as a teacher at St. Patrick’s, he became the first African Head of Sports.
He was promoted to the position of District Education Officer in Kapsabet, a position he served between 1967-1968 before changing his career to become a Sports Officer from 1968–1971 in Kisumu.
Thereafter, he was promoted to the position of Provincial Sports Officer in Western Kenya, a position he held from 1972 to 1974.
Because of his passion for sports, he was again promoted to the position of Principal Sports Officer in Nairobi between 1978–1981 and rose to become the Chief Sports Officer Kenya in 1982. He served in this capacity until 1988.
In 1989 he was appointed the Deputy Commissioner for Sports and he served until 1996. This led to his elevation to become the Commissioner of Sports, a position he held from 1997 until he retired in 1999.
Because of his exemplary service in Sports, he was awarded the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) state commendation in 2002.
Tirop was passionate about sports and this saw him serve in various capacities. Between 1981- 1994, he served as the Secretary General for the Confederation of East and Central African Football Association (Cecafa).
He was the overall in charge All Africa Games; Nairobi Kenya;1988 – Chief de Mission Olympic Games; Seoul, South Korea;1991 – Chief de Mission All Africa Games, Cairo Egypt;1995 – Chief de Mission All Africa Games, Harare, Zimbabwe; 1996 – Chief de Mission Olympic Games Atlanta, Georgia; 1997- Chief de Mission World Championships in Athletics, Athens Greece; 1998 – Chief de Mission Commonwealth Games, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia; 1999 – Chief de Mission All Africa Games; Johannesburg South Africa. BY DAILY NATION
