Police have arrested the suspected killers of Kenyan-born Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat, whose body was discovered in a car in Eldoret town on Sunday, December 31, 2023.

The suspects—two men, one of them a bodaboda rider—have been arrested in separate places: Kitale and Turkana. Police have also recovered a knife they suspect was used to commit the gruesome murder.

Confirming the arrests, Moiben police boss Stephen Okal said that money and a mobile phone were stolen from the 34-year-old athlete, hinting that it could be a criminal incident.

Okal revealed that the suspects linked to the murder of the Olympian have been positively identified and are wanted criminals who have long tormented locals.

“I am saddened to hear about the death of our athlete, Benjamin Kiplagat who was reportedly murdered in Kenya. I send my deepest condolences to his family, Ugandans, and the entire East Africa for the loss of such a budding athlete,” said Peter Ogwang, Ugandan Minister of Sports.

Kiplagat, a runner for nearly two decades, earned a silver medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2008 World Junior Championships and a bronze at the 2012 Africa Championships.

He reached the semi-finals at the 2012 London Olympics and competed in Rio in 2016. Sadly, he passed away, marking another loss in the running world.

“World Athletics is shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Benjamin Kiplagat,” the world’s athletics governing body said in a statement.

ALSO READ: CS Namwamba tells Kenyan athletes to stop struggling with English instead speak in Kalenjin

This follows the tragic killing of Agnes Tirop in October 2021. The Kenyan distance runner was found stabbed to death at 25 in her Iten home, near Eldoret.

Tirop’s husband, Ibrahim Rotich, faced trial for her murder last month, denying the charges and being released on bail before the trial began.