The Kenya Defense Forces Corporal Edwin Okong'o has been awarded The Certificate of Commanders Commendation and promoted to sergeant.
The corporal, who is based in the Wajir Air Base (WAB), participated as a boxer in the 13th All African Games held in Ghana.
KDF reported that Okong'o became the first boxer from East and Central Africa to win a gold medal in the sport in 17 years.
He received the promotion and commendation from Kenya Air Force (KAF) Commander Major General John Omenda.
Speaking during the event, Omenda praised Okong'o for his outstanding performance.
"Well done and congratulations for the good work put out there. It is of great joy that your winning has come during the ongoing promotion and for that let this rank be a motivation and morale to you so you can keep winning," Omenda said.
Additionally, Okong'o was encouraged to maintain flying the Kenya Air Force flag high and set his sights on additional international boxing contests by Brigadier Stephen Sane, the Base Commander at Wajir Air Base.
The 13th All African Games were held in Accra, Ghana from March 8-23.
This year, Egypt, with 189 medals in total, with 101 of them being gold medals, topped the Games, followed by Nigeria (120) and South Africa (106).
Kenya was at number 10 with 37 medals; eight gold medals, eight silver medals and 21 bronze medals.
The current Inter-cities Boxing Challenge Champion and Bronze medalist at the African Military Games, Okong'o, thanked the Commander for the recognition and said it has inspired him to reach new heights.
Senior Officers, Officers, and Members of the Service were also present during the meeting.
Cpl Edwin Okong'o of Wajir Air Base was awarded The Certificate of Commanders Commendation and promoted to the rank of a Sergeant by Commander Kenya Air Force, Maj Gen John Omenda. This is after an outstanding performance at the 13th All African Games . https://t.co/M0VJgBT0hG pic.twitter.com/B7lwY5mSkq
— Kenya Defence Forces (@kdfinfo) March 28, 2024