3 Men Alleged To Have Visited Kelvin Kiptum Before His Death Arrested
The fourth suspect was yet to be arrested, as per the Sub-county Commander Keiyo South Abdullahi Dahir.
Marvin Chege 
Three of the four suspects who allegedly visited the home of the late World Marathon record holder Kelvin Kiptum four days before his accident have been arrested.
The three, who are yet to be identified, are currently in police custody for questioning after they were earlier detained at Kaptagat Police Station in Elgeyo Marakwet County until 11 am on Wednesday, February 14.
They were transferred to Iten for further questioning as detectives in the county where the late Kiptum hailed from were interrogating the three to establish the nature of their visit to Kiptum's home.
The fourth suspect was yet to be arrested, as per the Sub-county Commander Keiyo South Abdullahi Dahir.
The late Kenya's Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago on October 8, 2023. /WORLD ATHLETICS
"What made us look for the four suspects is the allegation made by the father of the dead, we never had any prior allegation or report," stated Dahir.
The arrest comes after Kiptum's father, Samson Cheruiyot, raised alarm regarding four unknown men alleged to have visited the late athlete's home in unclear circumstances and took pictures as well as those of a car he claimed to have ferried the persons he said were following his late son.
Kiptum’s father had spoken about four strangers who visited the athlete’s home in Chepsamo village, Kaptarakwa ward, Keiyo South Constituency, Elgeyo Marakwet County four days before his tragic death and demanded that they be investigated as they did not introduce themselves well.
“There are people who came home a while back who were looking for Kiptum but they refused to identify themselves. I asked them to provide identification, but they opted to leave. It was a group of 4 people,” he had previously told Citizen TV.
Cheruiyot positively identified the three at Kaptagat Police Station and the vehicle they were using was detained at Kaptagat Police Station in Keiyo South.
At the same time, Cheruiyot revealed that he had last talked with his only child on Saturday, where the marathoner gave him an assurance of more medals and a better future.
“He told me someone will come and help us build a house. He said that his body is now fit, and he can now run for 1:59,” Cheruiyot recalled the last conversation with his only son.
“Kiptum was my only child. He has left me, his mom, and his kids. I have no other child. His mom was sick for a while. Right now I’m deeply saddened.”
He learnt of Kiptum's death through the news, a matter that prompted him to rush to the scene of the accident but the police had taken the body to Eldoret.
He further called on the government of Kenya to conduct investigations into the death of the marathoner. However, police had confirmed that Kiptum died in the accident amid questions over what really transpired on Sunday night.
A further review of the accident scene as well as the Toyota Premio vehicle involved in the accident that was towed to Kaptagat Police Station, showed that the front part was intact and the airbags did not deploy.
“The sensor of the airbag normally is at the front, and if there was no impact on the front part of the vehicle, the airbags will not move. The impact (on Kiptum's car) was on the roof...on the top of the car...so that’s why we could not see the airbags out," Dahir revealed on Tuesday.
Car wreckage from a road accident that claimed the life of Kelvin Kiptum on February 11, 2024. /THE TELEGRAPH
