Two people, including a boda boda rider, have been sentenced to 35 years in jail for the murder of Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat.

Eldoret High Court Judge, Justice Reuben Nyakundi said the prosecution, led by State Counsel Mark Mogun, had proved the cases against Peter Eshuru and David Ekai beyond reasonable doubt.

The Kenyan-born 34-year-old athlete was murdered on December 31, 2023, and his body later left in an abandoned vehicle on the outskirts of Eldoret town.

Justice Nyakundi said circumstantial and scientific evidence adduced in court showed that Ushuru, 30 and Ekai, 25 had clear intentions of killing the 3,000m steeplechase specialist as they intricately planned and committed the murder.

He said Ushuru and Ekai, the motorcycle rider, followed the athlete to his home in Kimumu Estate as shown in the CCTV footage where they killed him and left his body in the car.

“The duo was not even remorseful because they defended themselves in court despite the overwhelming evidence including the footage that showed them stabbing Kiplagat on the chest,” Nyakundi said.

He added that sentencing views of Kiplagat’s family, including his elderly mother Elizabeth Chemweno and his two brothers, demanded a tough sentence or even murder for the two.

“No amount of sentence would bring back the life of the deceased, My hope is that the family will be consoled by the conviction and move on,” he said.

  Chemweno told the court how her life has changed after the death of her son, adding that Kiplagat had work very hard to become an international runner and lift the family status.

She revealed that Kiplagat was the family’s breadwinner who was also supporting his siblings and their families.

Kiplagat’s two brothers, Vincent Kibet and David Changwonyi pleaded with the court to sentence the two to death or life imprisonment.