Two suspects have appeared before a court in Eldoret over the murder of athlete Edward Kiplangat alias Benjamin.
The two suspects included David Ekhai Lokere alias Timo aged 25 and Peter Ushuru Khalumi aged 30 years
They appeared before Principal Magistrate Kesse Cherono who allowed police to hold the suspects for 21 days to facilitate completion of investigations.
Cherono said she had considered the fact that public peace had been disturbed following the incident.
DCI officer Inyasio Mwaniki attached to Moiben sub county in Uasin Gishu had told the court that they were still investigating the incident.
He said the body of the deceased was found lying in a pool of blood with stab wounds.
He said the two were arrested on January 1, 2024, in Eldoret and Kitale and they are suspected to have murdered the athlete.
"We are yet to conduct a postmortem on the deceased and crucial exhibits collected from suspects are yet to be taken for analysis at the government chemists," said the DCI officer.
He said CCTV footage from the scene of the crime was also yet to be analysed by the cybercrime unit.
The DCI officer also noted that mobile phone records were also yet to be retrieved along with registration numbers for a car and a motorcycle found at the scene.
Mwaniki said they were also yet to record statements from witnesses at the scene.
He added that necessary information from the Uganda embassy on the status of the deceased before his death was yet to be established.
"It's in the interest of justice that the respondents be held in custody for 21 days to facilitate completion of investigations," said the officer.
Lawyer George Sonkule for the accused cited the Bill of Rights in the Constitution arguing that the suspects have the right to freedom.
Sonkule said the investigation officer had not indicated to the court which charges the accused are likely to face.
He said nothing stopped the police from investigating the matter and making a conclusion on whether to charge the two or not.
He had urged the court to release the suspects on cash bail.
He claimed that the suspects were assaulted during arrest and their phones were seized.
Sonkule also claimed that some money had been withdrawn from the Mpesa accounts of the accused after they were forced to give out their PINs.
Kiplagat has been competing for Uganda where he holds the 3,000m steeplechase
Okal said the body of the athlete was found with a deep knife cut on the neck.
The body was found in a car at Texas near Kimumu Secondary school along the Eldoret-Iten Road
An abandoned motorcycle was also found next to the vehicle.
Some cash and a mobile phone were stolen from the deceased.
Athletics Kenya (AK) officials led by Barnabas Korir have mourned the death of the athlete.
Kiplangat had previously represented Uganda at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.
The deceased athlete had competed in a series of competitions including the Shanghai Samsung Diamond League, Lausanne Athletissima in Switzerland, Paris Meeting Areva and Hengelo Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in the Netherlands.
He began by competing in the 10,000 metres, but on the advice of his coach, he dropped down to the 1500 and 5000m and later steeplechase