A “premeditated crime”: 35 years in prison for the murderers of Benjamin Kiplagat

A Kenyan court on Tuesday sentenced two men convicted of murdering Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat to 35 years in prison last year.

At the end of a nine-month trial, the High Court of Eldoret, in the northwest, last week judged Peter Ushuru Khalumi (30) and David Ekai Lokere (25), guilty of killing the bladed weapon the specialist in the 3,000 steeplechase, who was 34 years old. In his judgment, Judge Reuben Nyakundi emphasized on Tuesday that overwhelming evidence established that the two accused “intentionally killed” the athlete and that it was a “premeditated crime”.

Kiplagat’s body was discovered on December 31 in his car near Eldoret. He had a significant wound on his neck. The two convicts were arrested the next day. Kiplagat, who was born in Kenya, had participated in the Olympic Games in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016 as well as several world athletics championships under the colors of Uganda during a career spanning almost two decades.

His death stunned Kenya, a mecca for distance and middle distance racing, where many athletes have died violent deaths in recent years, such as former marathon runner Samson Kandie, killed last month during a brutal attack, or Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, burned by her companion on September 1, a few weeks after running the marathon at the Paris Olympic Games.