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Widow of Olympic champion Samuel Wanjiru urges media to stop publishing reports about his death

Widow of Olympic champion Samuel Wanjiru urges media to stop publishing reports about his death
Triza Njeri (R) lawyers Mathea Gikunju (C) and Wahome Ndegwa (L) consult before speaking to journalists in Nyahururu. PHOTO/David Macharia

The widow of 2008 Olympic marathon champion Samuel Kamau Wanjiru has pleaded with the media to stop revisiting his tragic death, saying continued reports traumatise her two children, who are today old enough to follow the coverage and ask unsettling questions.

Speaking in Nyahururu alongside her lawyers, Triza Njeri asked journalists to respect the family’s need for closure, as fresh revelations about Wanjiru’s estate and the decade-long inquest into his mysterious demise resurface.

Tormenting news

In the presence of lawyers Wahome Ndegwa and Mathea Gikunju, the widow urged the media to consider the well-being of the children – aged 18 and 15 – when publishing sensational reports. 

“My daughter is now 18 years old and can follow these reports. I plead for closure on this matter for the sake of the children,” she said. 

Her call for closure was echoed by lawyers Wahome and Mathea, who stated that the court had ruled Kamau’s death as accidental and that no appeal had been lodged against the decision. 

Addressing speculation regarding the late athlete’s property, Wahome declared, “I am as white as cotton.” 

The lawyer revealed that they had discovered a piece of land in Nyahururu town belonging to the deceased, which had been transferred in 2016—five years after the runner’s death.

He added that they had initiated the process of reclaiming it from a prominent individual in the town. 

Wahome, who had represented Njeri in the inquest held in Nairobi until he was forced to step down after the late athlete’s mother, Hannah Wanjiru, demanded he be treated as a witness, blamed people around the old lady for preventing her from healing.

Hidden agenda

“The people around his mother had ulterior motives, focusing on property rather than justice. Their main agenda has always been the athlete’s assets,” he said. 

He stated that those eyeing the property should abandon their hopes, as the court had granted Njeri the right to be the administrator of Wanjiru’s estate, with her and her children as the rightful beneficiaries. 

Regarding claims about the athlete’s financial status at the time of his death, Wahome refuted allegations that he had vast amounts of money. 

“The day he died, he had travelled from Eldoret to Nyahururu to withdraw Sh2 million, which had been advanced to him by his manager, Federico Rosa. The money was meant to help him deal with a criminal case he was facing,” Wahome said. 

Kamau had been arraigned in a Nyahururu court for illegal possession of a firearm and threatening his wife. 

“At that time, he owed me Sh600,000, which I was supposed to recover from the Sh2 million,” Wahome added. 

On the safe confiscated by police from the athlete’s house in the affluent Muthaiga estate in Nyahururu town, the lawyer said that it did not contain money but rather land title deeds and travel documents. He explained that the police had taken the safe because they suspected it contained an illegal firearm. 

Conflicting results

Regarding the inquest, which dragged on for over 10 years, Wahome and Mathea blamed former Chief Government Pathologist, Dr Moses Njue, for introducing a second report that contradicted an earlier unanimous conclusion reached by three pathologists, including Njue himself. 

“The three pathologists, Njue (for the government), Dr Emily Rogena (representing the athlete’s mother) and Dr Peter Ndegwa (for Njeri), had unanimously agreed that Kamau’s injuries were consistent with a fall from a height. 

“But the late Njue later introduced another report questioning whether the height of the fall was sufficient to cause death,” Wahome alleged. 

Kamau won Kenya’s first-ever Olympic marathon gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

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