Kenyan-born Bahraini runner Damaris Muthee Mutua found dead in running hub

By AFP

NAIROBI: A Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete was found dead in her native country on Tuesday, an incident that has revived memories of the killing last year of record-breaking distance runner Agnes Tirop in the same town.

Damaris Muthee Mutua’s body was discovered in the world famous running hub of Iten in western Kenya and police said they have launched a manhunt for her Ethiopian boyfriend.

Mutua, 28, competed for Kenya as a junior athlete and won two bronze medals at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore and the East African junior athletics championships in Khartoum, before switching her allegiance to Bahrain.

“According to Mutua’s immediate neighbour, her boyfriend was seen in the house on Sunday morning. It’s likely that the incident happened late Saturday or early Sunday since the body was in a state of decomposition,” county police chief Tom Makori told AFP.

“We have launched a manhunt for the Ethiopian who is believed to have fled the country.”

The sleepy farming town of Iten, a high-altitude endurance training centre for top athletes, hit the headlines in October when Tirop was found stabbed to death in her home.

The killing of Tirop, a rising star in long-distance running and a two-time World Championship bronze medallist, sent shockwaves across the nation and the athletics world. 

Tirop’s estranged husband Emmanuel Ibrahim Rotich has been charged with her murder and remains in custody but he has denied the accusations against him.

A bail hearing for Rotich has been postponed several times and it has now been set for April 27.