Suspect Jamlik
Morgit
/MATHEWS
NDANYI
A lawyer involved in the murder case of athlete Samson Kandie has expressed fear for his life, saying a suspect has been calling him from prison.
Lawyer Jeff Otieno, representing the family of Kandie in the case, on Tuesday told the High Court he has been receiving persistent calls from one of the suspects in the murder case of the athlete.
Otieno told the court that suspect Jamlik Morgit, who is detained at the Eldoret remand prison along with two others, has tried to call him 11 times.
Widow of the slain marathoner, Rose Rotich, is among three people linked to the murder. The third accused person is Vincent Kiprono.
Kandie was killed on October 3, 2024, at his home in Elgon View estate on the outskirts of Eldoret City. His body was found behind a toilet in the compound with hands and legs tied with a rope.
“I wonder how the suspect managed to access a mobile phone he used to call me while inside the highly protected prison facility," Otieno said.
He asked Judge Reuben Nyakundi, who is handling the murder case, to order investigations into the matter.
“I'm really concerned about my safety because I do not know how he got my number and why he has been calling me,” Otieno said.
The lawyer said he did not pick the calls after True Caller identified the person pestering him with persistent phone calls on his mobile phone as Jamlik.
The lawyer expressed concern over how the suspect knew his phone number, yet he had never shared it or interacted with the suspect at all.
“Your lordship, one of the suspects in this case has persistently tried to call me while at Eldoret GK remand prison, but I refused to pick up all the calls,” Otieno said.
The judge directed Safaricom to send a data analyst to court to help unravel the saga surrounding the phone calls that were made to the lawyer.
Justice Nyakundi termed the issues raised by the lawyer as serious and said the matter should not be taken casually.
“I will issue the necessary orders so that Safaricom and the DCI can prove a report on this matter,” Nyakundi said.
The three suspects, who were denied bail by the court, have denied killing the marathoner.
Five witnesses, among them daughter Vienna Chepchirchir and an investigating officer, have testified against the accused persons.
Chepchirchir, who testified against her mother, narrated to the court how her parents used to quarrel and fight in their presence over accusations of extramarital affairs.
She claimed in the court that her mother used to accuse their father of cheating on her with a sex worker in Eldoret town.
Chepchirchir said her mother would engage in vicious quarrels with their father as she accused him of cheating on her.
She said Kandie always denied the accusations.
