The
bible notes that leaders will be judged strongly than ordinary people.
Legacy is simply evidence of ones work on earth. It is ones influence
even after one has passed on.
Looking
at Kiprotich’s continued success, influence and humility throughout it
all, one cannot miss to realize that Kiprotich has built himself a
legacy and is still strengthening it. It is a legacy that will be an
inspiration to majority of Ugandans for generations to come. Like some
of the Ugandan greats before him such as Aki Bua who no doubt his
legacy
provided inspiration to this generation’s great, Kiprotich and even to
Inzikuru.
There
is a saying that to whom a lot is given, a lot is expected. It is
important that every Ugandan of whatever stature works on their legacy
be it in sports, politics, and family and even in our professional.
Kiprotich’s
success has come at the time when majority of Ugandan leaders have
abandoned building their legacy and concentrated on keeping power at all
costs and a massing material wealth.
H.E
Museveni has tarnished his legacy and has little or none to ride on when
he leaves this world. Benjamin Odoki the former Chief Justice after
having built his legacy by contributing to constitutionalism and rule of
law has now chosen to abandon the principles for greed and money.
What’s
certain is that our legacy is the only thing we shall take with us when
we die. We shall never be buried with any material accumulations and
most of them fade or are taken by our children. It is only our legacy
that will survive us; people will get to judge us by what kind of legacy
you leave behind. For leaders of this world what we truly have and what
will remain of us in the end are the books of history that will talk
about us, the lives of people that will change positively because of us.
In the end legacy is what matters; what kind of leaders, sport
personalities and social personalities will posterity read of you and
consider you to have been?
Will
posterity read that you were the kind of person who spent money for the
sick and dying people to lavish your lifestyle and in broad day light
justify such an evil selfish action by saying that “you fought in the
bush” or will you be the Prime Minister that has amassed personal wealth
by stealing tax payers money? I say both are not good legacies to leave
behind.
Looking
at Africa’s greats, Nelson Mandela, Julius Nyerere, Patrice Lumumba,
Jomo Kenyatta and even our own Jonan Luwum, all five of these guys knew
of hard and challenging circumstances but they did not compromise their
legacy.
Nelson
Mandela had heard of a South Africa that had acute infections of the
disease of apartheid but he treated that disease as justly as he could
without using it as an opportunity to enrich himself. Patrice Lumumba
had heard of a DRC that was under Belgium rule and fought for its
independence. Jonan Luwum had heard of a Uganda where Idi Amin the then
President was without legal cause killing innocent Ugandans. All these
guys stood up for what they believed in and thought was right. They
built their legacy and kept it so that we and other generations to come
may find inspiration in their work.
