Samuel “Sammy” Wanjiru, the Olympic marathon champion of Kenya, apparently died of suicide as report says that he jumped from a balcony at his home in Nyahururu.
Eric Kiraithe, the national police spokesman, believed that Wanjiru committed suicide. He committed such act concerning a situation wherein his wife and another woman were involved.
One of the news sites described that Wanjiru previously had some domestic problems. In fact, he was accused of wounding his guard using a rifle. There was also a time when he attempted to kill his wife, Triza Njerz. However, Wanjiru kept on denying those charges.
Eventually, the accusations were withdrawn by his wife, Mrs Njerz, telling the media that they had already reconciled.
Still, Wanjiru was scheduled to appear on a court hearing on May 23 due to illegal possession of a firearm.
Sammy Wanjiru and his wife, Triza, had been into a stormy relationship. Following a domestic dispute, Sammy jumped from the balcony of his home in the town of Nyahururu, in the Rift Valley. The incident happened at about 150km in the north-west area of Nairobi.
Jasper Ombati, a police officer in Nyahururu told reporters that the incident began when Mrs Njeri didn’t expect to find Wanjiru together with a female friend.
At present, authorities still interrogates the two women to investigate about the situation. Some reports say that Wanjiru might have tried to stop his wife from leaving the house.
Wanjiru acquired internal injuries as a result of his fall. He was immediately rushed into the nearby hospital, but he was declared dead despite an attempt to for his revival.
Rumours rise that some people of Kenya believed that Wanjiru’s domestic problems is connected to the runner’s wealth from the prize money he earned previously.
With the tragic death of Samuel Wanjiru at a young age, Kenya indeed lost its great runner.
Wanjiru, 24, is recognized to be the first marathon champion from Kenya after he had won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Games. He was able to finish the marathon in an Olympic record time of 2 hours, 6 minutes, 32 seconds.