Kenyan court finds two guilty of killing Olympian

NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) – Two Kenyans were found guilty on Monday of the murder of Ugandan Olympic distance runner Benjamin Kiplagat, who was found stabbed to death in the northwest of the East African country on New Year’s Eve.

Peter Ushuru Halumi and David Ekai Lokere were found guilty of murdering the 34-year-old Olympian by the Eldoret High Court after a nine-month trial in the Rift Valley town.

Judge Reuben Nyakundi said CCTV footage showed the men, identified by the court as 30 and 25 years old, chasing the athlete as he drove to his home in Kimumu Estate on December 31 last year.

“Scientific evidence presented to the court during the trial shows that the two of you were at the scene of a brutal murder on the night of December 31, 2023,” Nyakundi said.

“The evidence in court shows that the suspects are guilty. The defense is too weak to acquit them,” he told the court.

Both men denied being at the crime scene.

They were arrested a day after the athlete’s body with a deep wound to his neck was found in his car on the outskirts of Eldoret in a case that has shocked the country and prompted a flood of tributes.

During his 18-year career, Kenya-born Kiplagat represented Uganda internationally in the 3000m steeplechase, including at several Olympic Games and World Championships.

He won a silver medal in the 3000m steeplechase at the 2008 World Junior Championships and bronze at the 2012 African Championships.

He reached the semi-finals of the 2012 London Olympics and also competed in Rio 2016.

Ushur and Ekai are due to be sentenced on November 4.