Kenya mourns 'running phenomenon' amid mystery surrounding final moments and rumours of domestic dispute
- guardian.co.uk,
- Article history
Kenyans are coming to terms with the loss of the country's "running phenomenon", Sammy Wanjiru, who fell to his death from a balcony at his home, as police attempt to piece together the mystery of his final moments and reports of an argument with his wife.
One police official said the 24-year-old killed himself, while another said he jumped to stop his wife from leaving the house after she caught him with another woman. Wanjiru's agent said he was "100% certain" the athlete, one of Africa's brightest sporting talents, did not kill himself.
Wanjiru became the first Kenyan to win an Olympic marathon in Beijing in 2008, finishing in a Games record of 2hr 6min 32sec.
Local media reports said relatives found Wanjiru lying on the concrete floor of his home in Nyahururu in Kenya's Rift Valley and bleeding through the mouth and ears. Police said he suffered internal injuries and was confirmed dead by doctors at a nearby hospital.
Eric Kiraithe, Kenya's national police spokesman, said: "The fact of the matter is that Wanjiru committed suicide."
The police commissioner Mathew Iteere also said initial reports indicated Wanjiru killed himself, but a local official offered a different account.
Jasper Ombati, the regional police chief, said Wanjiru returned home with the woman at 11.30pm after a drinking spree. "When his wife came home and found them she inquired who the lady was. They got into an argument. His wife locked them in the bedroom and ran off," he said. "He then jumped from the bedroom balcony. He is not here to tell us what he was thinking when he jumped.
"We do not suspect foul play. In our estimation we think he wanted to stop his wife from leaving the compound."
In response to questions about how a fit young man could be killed by a fall from a first-floor balcony, Ombati said the balcony was between 4 metres and 6 metres high and Wanjiru landed on a hard surface.
"His head was intact but there may have been internal injuries which only a postmortem can reveal," he said.
Wanjiru's agent, Federico Rosa, told CNN World Sport he was "100% certain" it was not suicide.
"I talked to him yesterday, he seemed very relaxed, happy and everything was cool. They said it looks like he might have jumped in a certain way but it was because he had slipped and hit his head."
Wanjiru's wife, Triza Njeri, and another female recorded police statements in Nyahururu and were later released.
Wanjiru's death is being seen in Africa as a parable of how sudden wealth can become a curse for the ill-prepared.
Last December, he was charged with wounding his security guard with an AK-47 assault rifle and threatening to kill his wife and maid.
Njeri later withdrew her accusation of attempted murder in court, saying the couple had been reconciled. But Wanjiru was due to appear in court on 23 May on the charge of illegal possession of a firearm.
Residents of Nyahururu said Wanjiru had recently started to drink heavily, was stressed by personal problems and rumoured to be seeing other women.
Capital FM Kenya reported that a 25-year-old claiming to be Wanjiru's second wife was five months pregnant.
Wanjiru was from modest origins and seemed unable to handle the financial rewards of success.
Jos Hermens, a respected manager of long distance athletes said: "It is incredibly sad. An Olympic champion at 21, he was poised to become the world-record holder in the marathon. He could not deal with all the luxury. It all went too fast, too much money.
"You could not say anything bad about him. He just could not deal with it all. He was a lion of a man, and he departed us in much the same way."
Wanjiru moved to Japan aged 15 and marked himself out as a major talent, breaking the world half-marathon record in Rotterdam in 2005 aged only 18.
In 2009 he set a then course record at the London Marathon and became the fastest marathon runner ever on American soil in Chicago that October.
Kenya's prime minister, Raila Odinga, said Wanjiru was "steadily developing into our country's running phenomenon." He called the death "a big blow to our dreams."
The Ethiopian marathon veteran Haile Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic champion and world record holder, said he was "totally shocked" by the news. "My thoughts are with his family and all his friends and colleagues," he said.
"Of course one wonders if we as an athletics family could have avoided this tragedy."
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