Former Rotterdam Marathon champion Duncan Kibet who was nicked Jamaica due to his beard and fluency in speaking, has one of the heart-breaking stories anyone won’t like to experience.
Kibet, who rose from nothing to become one of Kenya’s most promising marathoners, made millions before watching his wealth evaporate in thin air due to fraudsters.
As a result, the 2004 Lille Half Marathon champion has been battling depression, attempting to commit suicide three times to evade the tribulations of this world.
At one point, he claimed to be unable to raise sh 100, and he would appreciate it if anyone would come to his rescue.
“If I happen to get a hundred shillings now, I will really appreciate it. I don’t know when I’ll get another one. The good thing is that I have accepted that I am down and I don’t drink. If I was a drunkard, I would be really wasted,” Jamaica said In a past interview.
But worse than that, he claims that a government official defrauded his last property. Kibet had entered into a property agreement with the said official after he felt sick and unable to raise funds for medication abroad.
The person involved in the process delayed giving him back the title deed, and he later learned that the house was collateral for a loan.
From the agreement, he received Sh. 2 million, which he used to seek treatment in Germany and was set for another Sh. 3 million.
Peter Ndegwa breaks his silence on quiting as Safaricom CEO
“I received Sh. 2 million and went to Germany for treatment. While I was away, I would enquire whether the title had been deposited with my lawyer to facilitate the transfer of the ownership to me but nothing was forthcoming,” Jamaica recalls.
“I only received the title in 2015 but then learnt that the house was collateral for a loan, which I knew nothing about. I was then evicted from the property and had to return home to my mother,” he explains.
He says his attempts to get justice have proven futile since the person who defrauded his works for a powerful government organization, and he suspects she is using her connection within the system to suppress him.
“I wrote a letter to the NIS, they told me to give them the lady’s Identification Numbers (ID) and details of which I did, since then, they have never replied”.