Is Iten town turning into silencer of athletes' dreams?

Iten town in Elgeyo-Marakwet County has until four(4) years ago been a thriving and ideal training destination for local and international athletes.

However, the town is now turning out to be the most dangerous place for runners with at least two(2) Kenyan athletes being killed in cold blood in the past two(2) years alone sparking fears among athletes in the entire North Rift region.

Some of the cases have also involved foreign athletes who have been accused of molesting female athletes sparking fears over the motives of these athletes in the country.

A case in point is the murder of a Bahraini--Kenyan born--athlete Damaris Muthee Mutua,28, in April 2022.

Damari’s decomposing body was discovered in a rental house at Lilies estate in Iten, with preliminary investigation pointing to strangulation.

Detectives linked the death to Damari’s Ethiopian lover, who is also an athlete by the name Eskanda Hailemariam, but was using the name Koki Fai on social media. He fled the country after the incident and is yet to be apprehended to date.

The AVDelta News has established that despite requests by Kenyan detectives for the fugitive suspect to be arrested and extradited to Kenya for questioning and subsequent arraignment in court, nothing much has come out of it.

The foreign athlete was the last person to be seen with Damaris, and according to sources, he even called one(1) of his friends in Kenya, once he was out of the country to report that he killed the athlete. AVDelta News cannot independently verify the allegations.

He had locked the house from outside, a detective’s report indicates.

On October 13, 2021, Iten hit the headlines again after another star Kenyan athlete Agnes Tirop was found murdered at her rental house in Iten. Her body had multiple stab wounds.

Ibrahim Rotich,41, who is the prime suspect in the murder of the 25-year-old two-time World Championships medalist, was apprehended by police in Changamwe.

According to police, Rotich is the key suspect in the death of the star Olympian whose death shocked the country. The case is still pending in court.

Agnes had just become the world record holder after winning the 10km road race. She clocked 30:01 during the Adizero Road to Records event in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

At the age of 19 years, Agnes became the youngest winner of the World Cross Country since Zola Budd in 1985 and the second youngest in World Cross Country Athletics history.

The event saw athletes participate in the men’s and women’s half marathon race, men’s and women’s 10km road race and the 5km road race in both categories.

She was part of Team Kenya for the Tokyo Olympics where she was fourth.

Leaders from the athletic-rich region who spoke to AVDelta News called on the Ministry of Sports to put in place regulations to govern foreign athletes who come into the country, especially to Iten, for residential training and outsiders who access camps and where athletes reside.

"We must make it safe for both local and foreign athletes to train in Iten and anywhere else in the Country without these unfortunate incidents occurring," said Elgeyo-Marakwet County Governor Wisley Rotich.

He called on security agencies to initiate fast investigations and track down and apprehend all those involved in athletes' killing.

"The government should also work closely with INTERPOL to bring back into the country those who have fled to face justice," said governor Rotich.

"I also call upon athletics officials to help come up with rules and protocols regarding safe training, particularly to guarantee the safety of young female athletes," added the county boss.

The leaders were categorical that the killings have exposed serious problems within the athletics fraternity that need to be addressed urgently.

The incidents have been happening despite the county government partnering with UNFPA for sensitisation meetings with athletes and their coaches in Iten against Gender Based Violence, which culminated in a Marathon in Iten in honour of Agnes Tirop early 2023 in Kapseret, Uasin-Gishu County.

Another foreign athlete was recently arraigned in a court in Iten facing cyber-crime charges.

The court was told that Weiss Marvin Valentin,25, sent disturbing messages to an athlete, whom he wanted to be romantically involved with, but his advances were rejected.

The German national was charged with three(3) counts of sending disturbing messages and a fourth count of malicious information to Regina Nguria.

He pleaded guilty to the four(4) counts before Iten Senior Resident Magistrate Caroline Ateya.

The Magistrate fined Mr Valentin Sh70,000 or spent six(6) months in prison for cyber harassment.

According to the charge sheet, the harassment was in the form of text and social media messages sent to a Kenyan female athlete, who also trains in Iten, Elgeyo-Marakwet County which meant to cause anxiety that something bad might happen to her.

He was ordered to leave the country within 72 hours once he pays the fine or completes the prison term, failure to which he was supposed to be deported.

With an altitude of over 2,400 Above Sea Level, Iten is the capital of the world for athletics.

There are more than 800 athletes training in the region among them World Champions, Olympic Champions and world record holders.