Kelvin Kiptum’s corpse is still at Racecourse Hospital as Eldoret Hospital Mortuary is full to Capacity?
Kiptum, who was returning from Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County, lost control of his vehicle, which veered off the road and into a ditch before being stopped by a tree about 60 metres from the main road.
With him was his coach and a female passenger, identified as Sharon Kosgey, who survived the accident and was rushed to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
“Devastating news as we mourn the loss of a remarkable individual, Kelvin Kiptum, World Record holder and Kenyan athletics icon,” former Kenya prime minister Raila Odinga said on social media platform X.
“My deepest condolences to his loved ones, friends, and the entire athletics fraternity. Our nation grieves the profound loss of a true hero.”
According to the Nation newspaper, Kiptum was driving his Rwandan coach and a woman in a car near the Rift Valley village where he was born when the accident occurred.
Kiptum and Gervais Hakizimana died at the scene but the woman, Sharon Kosgey, survived with serious injuries and was treated at a local hospital.
“This was a self-involved accident,” the newspaper quoted the local police commander, Peter Mulinge, as saying.
Despite the late hour, tributes were paid to Kiptum by senior Kenyan politicians and government officials.
