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A Kenyan marathoner was wrongly detained and accused of being an M23 rebel while attending a marathon in the DRC.
Three weeks ago, Kenyan marathoner Kennedy Kiptoo Lilan found himself ensnared in a harrowing saga in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) falsely accused of being a rebel fighter.
The 37-year-old distressing experience unfolded when DRC soldiers arrested him, draped him in military attire, and interrogated him under the false suspicion of affiliating with the M23 rebel group.
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Lilan, who has triumphed in multiple international marathons since 2011, found himself in a nightmare scenario shortly after he arrived in Kinshasa to take part in a local marathon that was set for June 2.
"Just as I sat down to eat, heavily armed soldiers swarmed in, speaking a language I didn't understand," Lilan recounted as per Nation.
The situation escalated rapidly when the soldiers without any substantiation accused him of being a covert rebel fighter.
"They wanted me to admit I was with the M23, but I refused," Lilan stated.
Despite his attempts to clarify that he was in the country solely for the marathon, the soldiers detained him and transported him to a military camp.
During his captivity, Lilan endured extensive interrogation and was forced into a military uniform ostensibly to substantiate the false claims against him.
The Uasin Gishu-born athlete was filmed and his identity documents were broadcast online, branding him a foreign militant.
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The ordeal did not end at the military camp as he claimed to have been robbed of significant sums of money and personal items.
"They took $500 and Sh30,000, among other things. Only some of the money was returned by their commander," he recalled in a separate interview.
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Despite the psychological and physical torment, Lilan participated in the marathon the following day, registering a winning time of 2:22:49.3.
The ordeal ended with the athletes being escorted to the airport, but the trauma of the experience remains.
"It seemed like a plot to keep me from running. They knew who I was but still put me through this," Lilan expressed, bewildered by the motives behind his detention.
Currently back in Kenya Lilan has been in contact with a Foreign Affairs ministry official but is still waiting for further assistance to resolve the issue and clear his name officially.
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