Court hears wife of late marathoner Samson Kandie paid goons to assault him

The late marathoner Samson Kandie. (Photo: Handout)

By Bashir Mbuthia
Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Kandie, 53, was found unconscious at his Elgon View residence on October 2, 2024. Both his hands and legs had been bound with rope, suggesting possible foul play.

Fresh revelations in the ongoing murder trial of former marathoner Samson Kandie have indicated that his wife, Rose Chepkemboi Rotich, played a hand in his death by allegedly hiring goons to assault him over suspected infidelity, which inadvertently led to his death.

The revelations were made at the Eldoret High Court on Tuesday, when four of 17 witnesses took the stand to testify on the matter.

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Kandie, 53, was found unconscious at his Elgon View residence on October 2, 2024. Both his hands and legs had been bound with rope, suggesting possible foul play. He passed away while undergoing treatment at a local hospital the following day.

Chepkemboi, Jamlick Morogit and Vincent Ngososei Kiprono were subsequently arrested and charged with Kandie's murder.

According to state witness Joshua Nyanchae, an Eldoret-based hawker, Chepkemboi approached him through one of her former house helps with a proposition of Sh200,000 to assault Kandie. He claimed to have been paid an advance of Sh10,000 but eventually withdrew from the plan.

Nyanchae, who told the court that Chepkomboi suspected that a woman named Millicent was having an affair with Kandie, had initially been held as a person of interest in the matter before turning state witness.

"Though I had received Sh10,000 as a deposit, I realised that the assignment was too hard for me and that is why I declined to continue with the mission to discipline the deceased as requested by madam," he testified before Eldoret High Court Justice Reuben Nyakundi.

A second witness, Felix Kodek, told the court that Chepkemboi made a similar proposition to him and one of his friends at a hotel in Eldoret, buying them alcohol and handing them Sh9,000 as a down payment.

"We met with madam at the Belasco hotel, where she bought us alcohol as we discussed how to execute the mission. During our meeting, she gave us Sh9,000, and our then team leader gave me Sh2,000, and later on I opted out of the mission," he said.

Chepkemboi's former househelp, Sheila Malakwen, also testified, telling the court that her former employer was particularly vocal about Kandie's alleged affair.

"The accused... used to complain about her husband's extra-marital affair with a commercial sex worker that she had identified," she said, adding that Rotich explored options on how to punish both Kandie and his alleged lover.

She further disclosed that one of the accused persons used her mobile phone to send threatening messages to Kandie, posing as the other woman's boyfriend.

"One of the accused knew madam through me and... borrowed my phone to text the deceased with threatening messages," she said.

Alex Wanjala, Kandie's former farmhand, told the court that the deceased expressed fears for his life after receiving the threatening messages.

"I am looking for your head. I warn you to leave my sister Rose alone and deal with your prostitute known as Millicent," Wanjala said, quoting one of the messages Kandie allegedly showed him.