*** Bahraini athlete murdered in Kenya, police launch manhunt | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Bahraini athlete murdered in Kenya, police launch manhunt

Agencies | Iten

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Kenyan police have launched a manhunt after the body of a Bahraini female athlete was found with stab wounds in the town of Iten.

Police say they are looking for the Ethiopian boyfriend of Damaris Muthee Mutua, 28, who was born in Kenya but competed for Bahrain.

She is the second female athlete to be killed in Iten in a year.

Iten is famous for its centre for long-distance runners.

Police say Mutua's body was found in "a state of decomposition" in the Rift Valley town of Iten, reported AFP news agency.

Mutua's boyfriend was training at the same high-altitude centre as her and may have left the country, police say.

"The suspect called a friend whom they were training together and informed him that he has killed a girlfriend and the body was in the house," reported Reuters news agency.

Mutua competed for Kenya as a junior athlete but later switched to run for Bahrain.

Last year, Kenyans were shocked by the killing of Olympic runner Agnes Tirop.

Her husband remains in custody and denies murder.