A Kenyan court has sentenced two men to 35 years each for the murder of Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat. The Olympic steeplechaser was fatally stabbed on New Year’s Eve in Eldoret, a renowned training hub for athletes.
“Your actions were cruel to a defenseless person whose life you cut short,” Justice Reuben Nyakundi told Peter Ushuru Khalumi and David Ekai Lokere during the sentencing hearing in the High Court in Eldoret, according to the BBC.
The murder of Ugandan athlete Kiplagat shocked Kenya, which has experienced several killings of elite athletes in recent years. The judge stated that Khalumi and Lokere followed Kiplagat in his car and intentionally killed him in a premeditated act, as evidenced by CCTV footage.
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While the exact motive remains unclear, police had initially suggested robbery. On Monday, Kiplagat’s mother made an emotional plea for life sentences.
According to the Nation newspaper, Kiplagat’s mother recounted how her son, who began his running career barefoot, had worked tirelessly to become an international athlete and the family’s breadwinner.
“My son had 8,000 [Kenyan] shillings ($62) and an expensive mobile phone, but the killers did not take any of the property from him. Their mission was to painfully finish him,” the newspaper quoted her as saying.
Despite not receiving the requested life sentences, Kiplagat’s family expressed satisfaction with the 35-year sentences, feeling that justice had been served.
Kiplagat, who was 34 at the time of his death, was a distinguished athlete who reached the 3,000m steeplechase final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, competed in the next two Olympic Games, and held the Ugandan record in the event.
