Wanjiru, the winner of the London Marathon in 2009, allegedly threatened to kill his wife Tereza Njeri with an illegal firearm, an AK-47 assault rifle. 

The 24-year-old, who has also won the Boston Marathon twice and the Chicago Marathon once, was also charged with threatening to kill their househelp, Nancy Njoki, and wounding a security guard, William Masinde.

Wanjiru, who made history in Beijing in 2008 when he became the first Kenyan to win the Olympic marathon title, denied the charges in a Nyahururu court and was released on a bond of Sh300,000 (£2,500/$4,000) with a similar surety.

It is alleged that he committed the offences yesterday at his Muthaiga estate home in Nyahururu town.



Prosecutor John Ruto told the court that Wanjiru hit Masinde with a rifle butt on the cheek and on the right hand.

The court heard that investigations were complete and five witnesses would testify.

The firearm has been forwarded to ballistics experts for analysis to determine whether or not it was used to commit other offences.

Wanjiru has been ordered to appear before the court again on January 9, 2011, with a hearing scheduled for March 14 - just five weeks before he is due to be the headline name in the London Marathon on April 17.

Wanjiru claimed through his lawyer Ndegwa Wahome that he had been framed.

Wanjiru spent Wednesday night in custody as a special team from Central Provincial Police headquarters conducted investigations.

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