Two suspects who were charged before the High Court in Eldoret with the murder of athlete Benjamin Kiplagat have been denied bail.
The duo, David Ekhai Lokere alias Timo (25) and Peter Ushuru Khalumi (30) denied the murder charges when they appeared before Justice Anuro Wananda.
Justice Wananda directed that the matter be mentioned on February 15 and set the hearing for March 7 before Justice Reuben Nyakundi.
The Prosecution led by State counsel David Fedha opposed bail for the suspects arguing that they had past criminal records and had no fixed aboard hence they are a flight risk.
Lawyer George Sonkule acting for the suspects, however, applied to have the suspects released on bail arguing that they were ready to abide by any conditions set by the court.
Justice Wananda directed the Probation department to file a pre-bail report within 14 days to help in the determination of the bail application.
The duo is accused of murdering the athlete on December 31, 2023 at Kimumu in Eldoret.
A blood-stained knife suspected to have been used to stab the athlete was recovered from the suspects and would be used as evidence.
Police had also sought time to have the CCTV footage from the scene of crime analysed by the cyber crime unit.
Kiplagat was a long distance runner specialising in 3000m steeplechase.
He had been competing for Uganda where he holds the 3,000m steeplechase record.
The athlete had previously represented Uganda at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016.