Ugandans Blast President's Gifts to Country's Marathon Champion

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda hosted Stephen Kiprotich at his country home for the second time following his victory representing Uganda at the men's marathon on 17 August, 2013 at the Moscow World Athletics Championships. For winning gold in Moscow, Museveni gave Kiprotich a brand new Mitsubishi Pajero and promised to build the athlete a three-bedroom house, gifts that stirred mixed reactions online.

Stephen Kiprotich at the London 2012 Men's Olympic Marathon. Photo released under Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Flickr user Peter Mooney.

Stephen Kiprotich at the London 2012 Men's Olympic Marathon. Photo released under Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Flickr user Peter Mooney.

Kiprotich is also the 2012 Olympic champion in the marathon. This was the first Olympic medal for Uganda since 1996, the first gold medal since 1972, and the first ever in the marathon.

Kiprotich is not only breaking records in Uganda. The ever-smiling runner is also the third person to win both the Olympic and World championship gold.

With the World Athletics Championship gold added to his collection, the Ugandan runner is now being mentioned in the same breath with other African great runners like Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie.

The Ugandan Observer newspaper (@observerug) reported:

After hearing the news, Omaido Blair (@BlairAO) suggested:

Angelo Izama (@Opiaiya), a Ugandan journalist and analyst noted:

He also asked:

T. Ddumba (@tomddumba) replied:

Catherine Byaruhanga (@cathkemi), a BBC Uganda multi-media reporter, responded:

Kobel Christopher (@oluwenyi), an artist and poet, said:

Collins Mugume (@cmugume), a Ugandan business junkie, had this to say:

Patrick Mugumya (@mugumya) criticized Museveni, whom he calls “Sevo” in his tweeet, for his gesture:

Making reference to Ugandan workers who often have to strike when demanding salary increase, Ugandan campaign strategist E. Otim (@iDEASUG) advised Ugandans:

On a positive note, Ugandan communications consultant Maureen Agena (@maureenagena) pointed out the narrative about Uganda should now change:

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