Joan Rotich: Fresh details emerge as Kenyan marathoner who 'lost' Sh11m property to boyfriend speaks out

Sometimes love blinds, and for it did so in the most painful way—costing her not only her hard-earned fortune of Sh11 million but also her peace of mind, her thriving athletics career and the dreams she had built for years. 

What began as a promising journey of international victories and marathon triumphs took a devastating turn, plunging her into financial ruin, heartbreak, and deep depression.

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Seated in a dimly lit house in Ngong, Kajiado County, as she reflects on the past few years. She fidgets with a few dusty trophies, remnants of a once-thriving career that has since taken a downward turn. 

“It’s been a long time since I paraded these trophies, and I think this should signify a fresh start for me. Maybe, I am cleaning out the problems in my life,» Rotich, who turned 37 on Christmas Eve, told

The mother of one had her breakthrough in athletics in 2011 after completing her secondary education at Talai High School in Baringo County. She was inspired by her cousin, legendary distance runner Paul Tergat, to pursue professional running. That same year, she transitioned from 10km races to full marathons, setting the stage for a promising career.

By 2012, Rotich had made a name for herself, winning the Salzburg Marathon in Austria (2:36:08), the Münster Marathon in Germany (2:38:13), and the Metz Marathon in France (2:38:13).

The following year, she secured victories in the Athens Marathon and Kisumu Safaricom Marathon, where she outpaced 2020 Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir.

But behind the glitz of international competition, Rotich’s personal life was taking a different trajectory—one that would leave her financially drained and emotionally broken.

“I first met him (the boyfriend) in 2013, but we haven’t been living together. I gave him all the money I collected from the races I competed in from 2013 to 2019,” she says, her voice heavy with regret.

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Her boyfriend, she says, convinced her to invest in their future together, promising stability and security. With love and trust, she wired close to a million shillings for a house he claimed they would one day live in as a couple.

“He then lured me to help him build a house under the pretext that we would stay in it after settling down. I wired to him close to a million shillings for that… I am not able to state exactly how much, but I have the records for that, in addition to those for many other transactions,” she explains.

As the years went by, Rotich says her boyfriend continued to manipulate her, using her savings to purchase two tour vans. But when she asked for the vehicle logbooks, cracks in their relationship began to show.

“He went quiet on me in 2020 when I demanded to see the motor vehicle logbooks and to be taken home to visit the house he had constructed using my money. That is when I realized everything had gone down the drain,” she says.

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Her pleas for repayment were met with silence. The man who once promised her a future together now only sent her Sh100 or Sh200 at a time, along with empty reassurances that he would refund her money.

“That showed how the man despised me and our relationship,” she says.

With her career already in limbo due to a potential career-ending injury that kept her out of competition for four years, the betrayal hit her hard. The financial loss and emotional turmoil plunged her into depression, leaving her struggling to make ends meet.

“I slumped into depression since I didn’t and still don’t have money for purchasing air tickets to enable me to attend races abroad so as to earn a living and pay my rent,” she says.

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Determined to seek justice, Rotich reported the matter to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers attached to Ngong Police Station.

 Authorities confirmed receiving her complaint and requested additional documents to assist with investigations.