Nigeria Content Online

Kenyan Olympic
Marathon champion, Samuel Wanjiru, was charged in court on Thursday
with threatening to kill his wife and illegal possession of an AK-47
assault rifle.

Wanjiru, the first
Kenyan to win the Olympic gold in the marathon, also faced two other
counts of threatening to kill his watchman and assaulting him.

The athlete, who
has also won the Chicago Marathon and London Marathon, was accused of
committing the crimes at his home in Nyahururu, a town in the Rift
Valley, some 150 km (94 miles) northwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

The prosecution said Wanjiru threatened to kill his wife Teresiah Njeri using the rifle following a confrontation.

Through his lawyer
Wahome Ndegwa, Wanjiru denied all the charges, and was released on bail
until his case returns to court early next year.

Wanjiru defied the heat of Beijing two years ago to triumph in an Olympic record time at the games held in China.