Eldoret, Kenya | NOW THEN DIGITAL — Uganda has lost its esteemed 3,000-meter steeplechase champion, Benjamin Kiplagat, whose tragic demise unfolded on Saturday in Eldoret, Kenya.
Dominic Otuchet, President of the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF), verified Kiplagat’s untimely death, revealing that the athlete fell victim to an assault at 9 pm by unidentified assailants after making a withdrawal from a bank.
According to Otuchet, Kiplagat, en route to his brother’s residence in Iten within Eldoret city, encountered a perilous ambush while in his vehicle. The assailants, in a violent act, stabbed him in the chest and seized an unspecified sum of money. Kiplagat’s lifeless body was discovered on the driver’s seat.
Kiplagat initiated his career by competing in the 10,000 meters during the 2004 World Junior Championships. His international debut transpired at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships after securing the 6th position in the Ugandan Junior Cross Country Championships.
During the World Junior Championships, he established a new national record of 8:35.77, subsequently lowering it to 8:34.14 in the final, culminating in a 6th-place finish.
In 2008, Kiplagat secured the 4th position in the World Cross Country Championships. The same year witnessed a lowering of the Uganda record to 8:16.06 and then 8:14.29, concluding with a second-place finish in the World Junior Championships.
Despite health setbacks in the 2009 season, Kiplagat persevered and further lowered the Ugandan national record to 8:12.98.
In 2010, he once again surpassed expectations, lowering the Ugandan record to 8:03.81 and attaining the 4th position at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Kenyan authorities have taken swift action, announcing the arrest of two men linked to the tragic demise of Ugandan athlete Benjamin Kiplagat. Found deceased with stab wounds in a car on the outskirts of Eldoret, Kiplagat’s alleged assailants, both in their 30s, are recognized as “known criminals who have been terrorizing the members of the public,” according to local police commander Stephen Okal.
Okal informed Agence France-Presse that one of the suspects was apprehended with a knife believed to be the instrument used in Kiplagat’s demise. The motive behind the killing remains unclear.
Kiplagat, born in Kenya, specialized in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and represented Uganda in the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics.
Eldoret, recognized as a prominent high-altitude training center for athletes, now bears witness to the somber loss of a distinguished sports figure.
