Two men accused of murdering Kenyan-born Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat have been found guilty by the High Court in Eldoret.
The two, among them a boda boda rider, were found guilty of killing the 3,000 metres steeplechase runner Kiplagat in 2023.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi ruled that both scientific and circumstantial evidence by the prosecution had linked Peter Ushuru, 30, and the rider David Ekai, 25, to the murder of the athlete on the night of December 31, 2023.
Ushuru and Ekai had denied the offense and claimed to have been framed by the prosecution but Justice Nyakundi termed their evidence as ‘mere stories’ to try and free themselves.
Nyakundi said the athlete had died because of actions of the two accused and the prosecution had proven that they were at the scene of the crime with the motorcycle they used during the incident.
The judge said that the CCTV footage captured the convicts chasing after the runner who was driving a pickup vehicle while heading to his home at Kimumu Estate along the Eldoret-Iten Road.
“The CCTV footage shows all your movements clearly at the scene as you moved up and down until you attacked the deceased,” the judge said.
"Scientific evidence including samples taken from the two of you and material collected as evidence places the two of you at the centre of the crime,” Justice Nyakundi said.
Nyakundi ordered the two to file in court their mitigation after which he will issue a sentenced on November 4, 2024.
Earlier Ushuru had claimed in his defense that he was in a night club in Eldoret town on the night the runner was killed while heading to his house in Kimumu Estate.
“I was enjoying my good time at a night club in Eldoret town on the night the said athlete was waylaid and killed by some people whom I do not know,” he told court.
Ushuru recounted how a team of police officers in civilian clothes broke into his house while he was asleep and ordered him to hand over his mobile phone and disclose the M-pesa pin number.
“One of the officers hit me on the head with a blunt object as he called me a murderer as his colleagues watched and then he ordered me to put on my clothes,” Ushuru said.
The 3,000 metres steeplechase silver medallist was murdered while on his way home on the eve of New Year.
The accused persons are represented by lawyers Mathai Maina and George Songule while the prosecution is led by Mark Mugun.
In his defense, the boda boda rider told the court that he was on normal night chores ferrying customers to various destinations at a fee within and outside Eldoret town.
Ekai shocked the court when he claimed that he was a victim of robbery on the material night that he is said to be at the scene where the slain athlete was found murdered.
“I met a customer in Eldoret town who asked if I could ferry him to Kimumu Estate and I agreed on condition that he pays me Sh300 for the journey to his house,” Ekai told the court.
The judge rejected the defense evidence and said the two were guilty and will be sentenced for the murder.
The murder sparked outrage and anger in Kenya and Uganda.