Kenyan Police have arrested two suspects in the murder of Kenyan-born Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat.
Police said Kiplagat’s “body had a deep knife cut wound on the neck.”
CCTV footage obtained by Citizen Digital shows the two suspects tracking Kiplagat’s car before leaving the estate on December 31, 2023 at around 1:10 am.
The camera captured a motorbike rider speeding off from the estate; a minute later at 1:11am, a pick-up vehicle approaches the exit as the driver appears to be in a rush.
At this time, the events remain unclear; a minute later, a white saloon car is seen moving at an unusually slow speed.
Two minutes in at 1:14 am, the pick-up dashes back to the estate and a man suspiciously walks towards the direction of the car, another man then follows ,they then rush back towards the exit.
Kenya’s Citizen TV reported that the CCTV footage is what police in Eldoret used to arrest the two suspects accused of involvement in the murder of the late athlete.
Moiben sub-county Police Commander Stephen Okal said one of the suspects was apprehended within Uasin Gishu while the other was arrested in the neighbouring Trans Nzoia County.
Okal said the police are interrogating the two and believe more people could have been involved in the gruesome murder.
The suspects are currently held at Ainaptich Police Station and are set to be arraigned on Tuesday as police seek to solve the athlete’s murder puzzle.
Uganda’s Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among mourned the deceased: “We are pained by the news of the passing of Benjamin Kiplagat, our own , who has represented our country with so much commitment and pride!”
She added: “We send our deepest condolences to his family , the Sports fraternity and friends. Our thoughts are with you in this trying moment.”
Kiplagat took up running following the success of Boniface Kiprop, who is from the same village as Kiplagat, in the 2004 World Junior Championships.
He began by competing in the 10,000 metres, but on the advice of his coach, he dropped down to the 1500 and 5000 m.
He made his international debut at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships, having qualified by finishing 6th in the Ugandan Junior Cross Country Championships.
That year he also qualified for the World Junior Championships. There, he set a new national junior record of 8:35.77, which he then lowered to 8:34.14 in the final, where he finished 6th.
