When death cut short Damaris Muthee's joy

Ethiopian athlete Eskinder Hailemaryam, who has been linked to the death of Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee, had expressed frustrations over their relationship before his partner was found dead.

A caretaker, who was close to the slain Muthee, 28, and Hailemaryam, 36, claims that mistrust over money and a love triangle might have caused a fight and the eventual killing of the athlete. Hailemaryam is suspected to have fled to his country.

Muthee was still celebrating her podium finish at the Angola peace half marathon on April 4 when news of her death surfaced. She was recovering from the bruising race at her training base in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County.

But even before she could properly celebrate her feat, Muthee, who finished third in the Angola race, was found dead in a rental house that was occupied by her Ethiopian boyfriend.

The unsettling death once again sent shockwaves across the athletics world.

The slain athlete was born in Masinga, Machakos County, but runs for Bahrain, and has been training in Iten and Kapsabet (Nandi County).

The suspected murder, which comes barely six months after two-time world 10,000m bronze medalist and Olympian Agnes Tirop was found dead, and just a kilometre from the house where Muthee’s body was discovered, rekindled memories of painful deaths in the athletics world last year.

Muthee was mother of one son, while Tirop was yet to become a mother. Another athlete, Edith Muthoni, was also killed in Kerugoya last October.

Details in the Ethiopian suspect’s passport, which The Nairobian has seen, show that Hailemaryam was born in Alemtena in central Ethiopia. He was born on September 14, 1985. Alemtena is the administrative centre of Bora Woreda in Misraq Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region.

Details about his athletics career remain scanty. Reports indicate that he is a half marathon specialist, but records of the races he has participated in are not available.

Tirop and Muthee died under similar circumstances. In Tirop’s case, her boyfriend Ibrahim Rotich, who is facing murder charges in an Eldoret court, fled before the athlete’s body was discovered a few days later.

Similarly, in Muthee’s killing, the Ethiopian boyfriend fled before her body was found three days later. Police suspect the late Muthee was killed by Hailemaryam alias Koki on Saturday night before the foreigner fled the country.

Muthee ran 1:14:39 in the Angola peace half marathon which championed harmonious coexistence, but fell victim to what the race sought to eliminate. Neighbours in Iten knew Hailemaryam and Muthee as boyfriend and girlfriend who often visited each other.

Hailemaryam had lived in Iten since 2019, but the late Muthee has lived and trained in the country’s favourite training base for nearly 10 years.

Iten residents, who knew the two love birds, yesterday said they lived separately but the late Muthee would visit the Ethiopian frequently.

Their last visit was on Saturday, and that was the last time the duo was seen, until Tuesday afternoon when Muthee’s decomposing body was discovered in Koki’s house.

According to Brian Bartai, the caretaker of the residential houses where Hailemaryam lived, the now-Ethiopian fugitive was known as polite and generous.

Bartai says he was his close friend and was shocked when he was linked to the Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete.

“Being my good friend, I knew him well. When I was in the residential plot, he would invite me to his house for a cup of tea and we talked a lot,” the caretaker said.

But there were tell-tale signs that all was not well in Muthee’s relationship with Hailemaryam. Bartai says Hailemaryam had earlier this month confided in him that his girlfriend (Muthee) was no longer trustworthy.

“Recently he (Hailemaryam) told me that he was beginning to lose trust in Muthee. He said this girl had taken a lot of money from him and that she was talking to several men and he didn’t understand what she was saying to the men in Kiswahili,” Bartai revealed.

The caretaker also revealed that Muthee came to Hailemaryam’s rented house once in a while and she lived near Finland Estate.

Bartai said he learnt of Hailemaryam’s fleeing out of the country on Tuesday after the Ethiopian national called one of his neighbours informing him that he had killed his girlfriend.

 “I knew the two lovebirds. Muthee knew me as Koki’s (Hailemaryam’s) friend and I knew her as Koki’s girlfriend. Koki was known by neighbours as a polite man and they were shocked to hear that he is the main suspect in Muthee’s killing.”

He added: “Unlike several upcoming athletes, he had no difficulties with his rent. At times he would pay a large sum of money that was enough to pay rent for several months.”

He said he has lived in Iten for four years and built friendships with locals.

The late Muthee’s confidant, Christine Kambua, who is also an athlete said Muthee was in another relationship with the father of her son.

“I came back to Kenya a few years ago from Japan where I was training and I met Muthee. She has been training hard but I was never aware that she had another boyfriend. She had told me about the father of her son. I have learnt about the new relationship after her death,” Kambua, who also comes from Machakos, said.

Following the deaths of Tirop and Muthoni over gender-based violence, the ministry of Sports pledged to implement recommendations of a report that detailed the problems that athletes in Kenya faced.

The Gender Welfare in Sports Committee report followed a series of consultative forums organised by Athletics Kenya to gather information on the causes of gender-based violence among athletes. The committee was chaired by legendary athlete Catherine Ndereba.

The meetings happened in areas where majority of athletes train. The federation met athletes in Kapsabet, Uasin Gishu, Iten, Baringo and Central Kenya among other areas, and collected views which were captured in the report presented to Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed in January.

Keiyo North Deputy County Commissioner, Julius Maiyo, said athletes in Iten were sensitised following Tirop’s death.

More than 2,500 athletes train in Iten daily and a sizeable number of them are foreigners. However, there is currently no data showing the number of foreigners training in the high-altitude town.