NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 24 – Suspended Athletics Kenya (AK) President Isaiah Kiplagat has died at his Nairobi home after succumbing to a long battle with cancer.
Sporting officials say Kiplagat, 72 had worsened over the last four months and passed on peacefully at his home 10:30am Wednesday.
“We have confirmed that indeed he has passed on this morning at home, but we are still waiting for more details from the family,” Acting Athletics Kenya CEO Susan Kamau told Capital Sport.
AK Nairobi branch chair Barnabas Kori also affirmed to have received news of the death of a man he had worked with for decades in building Kenyan athletics.
“I have just been informed of his death this morning at his home and it is a sad day for athletics in this country. He had helped transform Kenyan athletics in the duration he was president. Before he came in, Kenya wasn’t winning medals as much as it does today,” Korir told Capital Sport.
“Despite the problems we had in the recent years, his contribution to Kenyan athletics was immense and cannot be ignored. We are praying for the family and the entire athletics fraternity in Kenya,” Korir added.
In November last year, Kiplagat alongside two other AK officials David Okeyo and former treasurer Joseph Kinyua were suspended by the IAAF Ethics Board for 180 days after being accused of subverting anti-doping processes and potentially diverting sponsorship funds from Nike.
Kiplagat was also accused of accepting, either personally or on behalf of Athletics Kenya, an “apparent gift” of two motor vehicles from the Qatar Association of Athletics Federations in the period from 2014 to 2015, a time Doha was bidding to host the 2019 world championships.
In May this year, the suspension of the trio was extended for a further 180 days to allow completion of investigations.