A Kenyan court on Tuesday, November 5, sentenced two men convicted of murdering Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat to 35 years in prison last year. After a nine-month trial, the High Court in Eldoret, in the northwest, last week found Peter Ushuru Khalumi, 30, and David Ekai Lokere, 25, guilty of killing stabbed the 3,000 steeplechase specialist, who was 34 years old. In his judgment, Judge Reuben Nyakundi emphasizes 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.
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