Rabat – Ugandan runner Benjamin Kiplagat has reportedly been found dead in a car on the outskirts of the Rift Valley region, home to many African long-distance runners.
The local media reported that the athlete’s body was found in a car on the evening of December 30.
Local police commander Stephen Okal told the press that the 34-year-old athlete was stabbed in the neck with a knife, the Ugandan news outlet Monitor reported today.
The same source said that, in the meantime, Kenyan police have arrested two suspects in connection with the athlete’s murder over the weekend.
According to the commander, the defendants, reportedly in their 30s, were arrested on the outskirts of the Rift Valley town of Eldoret.
“The two suspects are known criminals who have been terrorizing members of the public,” Okal told the French news agency AFP, adding that the suspects were arrested while in possession of a knife that was allegedly used in the murder.
While the reason for the killing remains unknown, police reported that investigations showed that Kiplagat had been “waylaid” by the two men prior to him hitting their motorcycle with his car.
“We are in the advanced stage of the investigations and we will possibly be sending them to court tomorrow,” he added. “This probably provoked them into that violent act,” Okal told AFP, referring to the stabbing.
Born in Kenya, Kiplagat competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase internationally, representing Uganda in many Olympic Games and World Championships.
Over the course of his roughly 18-year career, Kiplagat earned bronze at the 2012 Africa Championships and silver at the 2008 World Junior Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
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