On October 20, at Ithookwe Stadium in Kitui County, Kenyans wrapped themselves in the national flag as patriotic songs filled the air to mark this year’s Mashujaa Day. The atmosphere was charged with pride and remembrance.
It is a day set aside to honour men and women whose courage, sacrifice and dedication have shaped the country’s story.
Among those honoured by the government were 30 sports icons, who included Olympic taekwondo star and now climate advocate Faith Ogallo. Tall and composed in national colours, she received the prestigious Head of State Commendation (HSC) with humility.
“It has been my pride representing my country in continental and international taekwondo events,” she told Nation Sport, thanking President William Ruto , the National Heroes Council, Kenya Taekwondo Federation, Kibabii University and Kenyans for supporting her.
To Ogallo, the award was not an end, but a call to deepen her mission of transforming sports in Kenya, empowering youth and protecting the environment.
Born in February 1994 in Busia County, Ogallo attended St Mary’s Butula Girls and Maria Soti Girls Educational Centre.
She was a multi-talented athlete, participating in basketball, netball, tug of war and athletics. Her journey into taekwondo began unexpectedly, at age 22, while pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at Kibabii University, an age considered late to start a competitive sport.
“I never saw taekwondo as just a sport,” she recalls. “It was a platform to empower, teach discipline and inspire the youth.”
Kenya taekwondo Olympian Faith Ogallo and her training partner Newton Maliro train at Moi International Sports, Centre, Kasarani, on April 6, 2021.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Her athletic ability and resilience quickly stood out. In 2018, she won gold at the East Africa University Games in Dodoma, representing Kibabii University.
Her breakthrough came at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco, where she won silver. She’d been training in Cairo.
That performance qualified her for the African Olympic Qualification Tournament for Tokyo 2020. In February 2020, Ogallo made history by reaching the semi-finals and becoming only the second Kenyan woman to qualify for the Olympics in taekwondo, after Milkah Akinyi in 2008.
Representing Kenya at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was “humbling and transformative,” she says. Ogallo went on to win bronze medals at the 2021 African Taekwondo Championships in Dakar, Senegal, and the 2023 African Games in Accra, Ghana. Internationally, she also won two bronze medals at the Fujairah Open in the UAE and gold at the India International Taekwondo Tournament.
Despite her accolades, Ogallo says her journey is “about impact, not medals.”
Off the mat, Ogallo has deeply invested in education and social change. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Kibabii University, a Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Science and Health Promotion from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, and is pursuing a Master’s in the same field. She also holds a Diploma in Olympic Studies from the International Olympic Academy in Greece and certifications in first aid, competition integrity and nursing.
“As a sociologist and sports scientist, sport has always been my way of transforming lives,” she says, hoping the Head of State Commendation inspires support for taekwondo infrastructure in Kenya.
Her influence extends beyond sports into environmental advocacy. On July 16, World Taekwondo named her Sustainability Ambassador for Environmental Conservation, alongside Beth Munro of Great Britain and Zimbabwean Natsiraishe Maritsa. World Taekwondo recognised her for initiating clean-up drives, tree-planting campaigns and climate education in Bungoma after witnessing risks caused by unmanaged waste.
Kenya’s taekwondo Olympian Faith Ogallo poses for a photo before being inducted into the prestigious Olympians for Life programme in Paris, on Monday.
Photo credit: PHOTO | POOL
“Each honour reaffirms my mission to use sport as a tool for societal change,” Ogallo said of the appointment. She is also a UN Young Champion of Ecosystem Restoration under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Currently, Ogallo coaches taekwondo at Kibabii University and mentors athletes. She has scaled back on international competitions to focus on grassroots development. “It is not easy to produce Kenyan Olympians in this sport,” she explains. “Funding and access to world-class training facilities remain major challenges.”
Kenya taekwondo Olympian Faith Ogallo trains at Moi International Sports, Centre, Kasarani, on April 6, 2021.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo| Nation Media Group
Rather than lament, she acts. With support from Kibabii University Vice Chancellor Isaac Ipara Odeo, she leads mentorship programmes combining martial arts with leadership, gender equity, life skills and environmental education.
Prof Odeo praised her influence, saying her recognition “highlights the role athletes play in championing sustainability and positive change beyond the arena.”
Her mentorship is already yielding results. One of her mentees, Patience Neema, a criminology student, recently qualified for the finals of the African Championships in the Under-67kg category. “Coach Faith is more than a coach. She is a mentor, a sister, a motivator,” Neema said.
Ogallo’s most ambitious vision is the proposed Faith Ogallo Climate-Smart World-Class Sports Facility at Kibabii University. It aims to run on renewable energy, incorporate rainwater harvesting, use sustainable materials and serve as a hub for sport, education and innovation.
“Kenya has a proud sporting heritage,” she notes. “But access to world-class facilities, especially for sports such as taekwondo, is limited. This project is about excellence, environment and empowerment.”
If completed, it would be the first of its kind in Africa—combining sport and sustainability to produce champions both on the mat and for the planet.
Ogallo is also outspoken on education reform, particularly the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
“The system does not adequately integrate arts and sports,” she says. She dreams of creating safe, inclusive, world-class training environments locally, inspired by her exposure to facilities abroad through World Taekwondo.
Asked what being named a national hero means, Ogallo does not speak of fame. “I am a hero because of sport and the support from Kenyans,” she explains. “This honour belongs to all of us—every young athlete who dreams, every coach who sacrifices, every Kenyan who believes in the power of sport.”
Faith Ogallo poses for photos during an interview at Nation Centre on May 5, 2020. She is the only taekwondo exponent who qualified to represent Kenya at the Tokyo Olympic Games. PHOTO | SILA KIPLAGAT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Ogallo’s journey spans continents and causes, from Busia and Bungoma to Tokyo, from village clean-ups to international sustainability forums. She continues to fight, not only for medals, but for a greener, fairer and more hopeful world.
“The mat is where the fight begins,” she reflects. “But it is off the mat where the real transformation happens.”
Ogallo is more than a fighter. She is a leader, a thinker, an activist and a true shujaa—one whose legacy is being built in every step she takes, both on and off the mat.
