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Long-serving Kenyan boxing administrator Albert Matitu dead
Long-serving boxing coach and administrator, Albert Matitu.
Albert Matitu, a veteran sports administrator and former boxer, has died.
Matitu passed away at the age of 74, having served as a sports administrator for 55 years.
A career soldier, he later became a boxing coach and the head of boxing umpires and referees. He also managed Kenya’s boxing team, Hit Squad, on major assignments outside the country.
Matitu was head of the technical department at the Boxing Federation of Kenya (BFK) and died on Thursday, August 21, at 10:30 am at the Nightingale Medical Centre in Kisumu, where he had been taken for treatment.
His body is lying at the Oginga Odinga Private Mortuary in Kisumu.
On Friday, August 22, the BFK announced Matitu’s death and paid tribute to the long-serving administrator who served the national team and the federation at various levels.
“Matitu dedicated his life to the growth and development of boxing in Kenya, serving with distinction, integrity and passion for many years,” said the BFK in a statement on Friday. The BFK added that his invaluable contribution to the sport, and his mentorship of local boxers, coaches and officials, will be remembered in the boxing community for years to come.
"We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and the entire boxing community during this difficult time," the statement added.
Details regarding funeral arrangements will be communicated in due course.
Retired boxer Moses Kinyua, who is based in the United Kingdom, recalled that Matitu was in his corner when he won the silver medal in the light flyweight category at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Kenya’s boxing team, the ‘Hit Squad’, claimed three medals at the championship: two silvers and a bronze.
Kinyua and Absalom Okoth won silver medals in the welterweight category, while Samuel Odindo won bronze in the light heavyweight category.
Matitu coached Kenya’s ‘Hit Squad’ at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.
He managed the Kenyan boxing team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India; the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow; and the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Matitu was a career soldier. He joined the Kenya Defence Forces as a boxer at the Kariobangi Boxing Club in Nairobi in his youth, before becoming a coach in the disciplined forces.
