By Robert Mutasi 
Police in Uasin Gishu County have arrested two men in connection with the brutal killing of Ugandan Olympic runner Benjamin Kiplagat, who was found fatally stabbed inside his brother’s car on New Year’s Eve.
Confirming the arrests on Monday, Moiben Sub-County Police Commander Stephen Okal said the suspects were apprehended in a swift operation following the discovery of the athlete’s body on the outskirts of Eldoret, a high-altitude town in western Kenya renowned worldwide as a training base for elite long-distance runners.
According to police, Kiplagat’s throat was cut and he was found dead in his brother’s car early Sunday morning. A knife suspected to have been used in the killing was recovered from one of the suspects during the arrest.
Commander Okal said preliminary investigations point to robbery as the motive behind the heinous act, noting that money and a mobile phone belonging to the athlete had been taken from the scene.
“The motive for the killing appears to have been robbery because money and a cell phone had been taken from Kiplagat,” Okal said.
The 34-year-old Kiplagat was a decorated athlete who represented Uganda in three Olympic Games and six World Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He won a bronze medal at the 2012 African Championships and was a familiar figure on the international athletics circuit for over a decade.
His death has sent shockwaves through the athletics fraternity in both Kenya and Uganda, with fellow athletes and officials mourning the loss of a disciplined and soft-spoken runner.
Kiplagat becomes the fourth elite athlete to be killed in the North Rift region in recent years, raising fresh concerns over the safety of athletes who train in Eldoret and Iten.
In October 2021, two-time World Cross Country champion Agnes Tirop was found fatally stabbed in her home in Iten. Her estranged husband is currently on trial charged with her murder.
In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini runner Damaris Muthee’s decomposing body was found at a house belonging to a male Ethiopian athlete in Iten. The athlete, who is the main suspect in her death, has never been apprehended and remains at large.
In August last year, Rwandan runner Rubayita Siragi was killed in what police believe was a fight with another athlete over a woman.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) says the two suspects linked to Kiplagat’s murder are in custody undergoing processing pending arraignment. Detectives have secured the suspected murder weapon and the vehicle as exhibits as investigations continue.
Athletics Kenya and the Uganda Athletics Federation have called for speedy investigations and justice for Kiplagat, urging authorities to enhance security for athletes living and training in the region.