Ugandan athlete, Benjamin Kiplagat ‘murdered’ in Kenya, his lifeless body is found with a ‘knife wound to his neck’ in a car

Olympic athlete, Benjamin Kiplagat has been murdered. He was found dead with a knife wound to his neck in a car in Kenya.

The Kenyan-born runner, 34, who represented Uganda internationally in the 3,000m steeplechase, including at several Olympic Games and World Championships,  was found in a car on Saturday night on the outskirts of the Rift Valley town of Eldoret.

‘An investigation has been launched and officers are on the ground pursuing leads,’ local police commander Stephen Okal told reporters in Eldoret.

He said Kiplagat’s body had a deep knife wound to his neck, suggesting he was stabbed.

Media reports said he had been training in the Eldoret area before going to Uganda to take part in athletics competitions.

Kiplagat, whose running career spanned about 18 years, won the silver medal in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2008 World Junior Championships and bronze at the Africa Championships in 2012.

His death follows the killing in October 2021 of Kenyan distance running star Agnes Tirop who was found stabbed to death at the age of 25 in her home in Iten, a training hub near Eldoret.

Her husband Ibrahim Rotich went on trial for her murder last month. The 43-year-old has denied the charge against him and was freed on bail just before the trial opened.