The High Court in Eldoret has jailed two convicts for 35 years for the murder of 3,000m steeplechase athlete Benjamin Kiplagat.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi said the two Peter Ushuru, 30, and the rider David Ekai, 25, planned and committed the offence.
Justice Nyakundi said all evidence proved that the two carried out the heinous act of killing the athlete in cold blood on the night of December 31, 2023.
Jude said he had also considered the pre-sentencing views of the family of the deceased including his mother Elizabeth Chemweno and his two brothers.
They family of the deceased had demanded that the accused be sentenced to death or life imprisonment but Justice Nyakundi said no amount of sentence would bring back the life of the deceased.
“I just hope that the family will find solace in the decision of the court and take courage to move on," said Nyakundi.
He said although the accused were first offenders, they still deserved a harsh sentence for the offence.
Earlier, the mother of the athlete had caused a commotion at the court as she asked the judge to pass the death sentence against his killers.
70-year-old Elizabeth Chemweno cried out in court and wondered why the two convicts were still alive.
“Judge you mean this person are still alive and they killed my son. You mean they are here and I am suffering because of what they did to my son”, said Elizabeth.
She moved the court by narrating how her life had changed after the killing of his son last December.
“My son was everything to my family and we are now suffering a lot. This people should not be alive at all”, said Elizabeth.
She was giving her final pre-sentencing views before justice Reuben Nyakundi before he delivered judgement against the two found guilty of murder.
Justice Reuben Nyakundi ruled that both scientific and circumstantial evidence by the prosecution had linked the two to the murder.
Two brothers of the deceased Vincent Kibet and David Changwonyi also pleaded with the court to pass the death or life sentence against the two.
They described how the family depended on the deceased for their livelihoods.
The prosecution had nine witnesses who testified against the accused
Ushuru and Ekai had denied the offence and claimed to have been framed by the prosecution but Justice Nyakundi termed their evidence as “mere stories” to try and free themselves.
Nyakundi while finding the two guilty said the athlete had died because of the actions of the two and that the prosecution had proved 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 pick-up vehicle while heading to his
home at kimumu estate along the Eldoret-Iten road.
After the sentencing, the family led by Vincent said they were satisfied with the decision of the court.
“As a family, we are satisfied with the decision of the court even though the life of the deceased will not be restored. We thank all those who have supported us through out this difficult period,” he said.
They asked the government to help protect athletes whose lives were threatened by ill-motive people.