New Zealand runner Zane Robertson, who was banned from athletics in 2023 for doping, has said that he was wrongly accused of rape and illegal firearm possession while living in Kenya.
In an exclusive interview with The Post, Robertson, 34, said that he was framed, blackmailed, and threatened with a murder charge during a 17-month legal incident that began in September 2023.
He has said that he will never return to live in Kenya, where he spent more than a decade training and building a life.
“I had to leave my house, I had to leave everything I ever built. I owned my house outright in Kenya. All of these things I left, because I just can’t be there anymore,” said Robertson.
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How the Olympian Ended up in Kenya
Robertson moved to Iten as a teenager with his twin brother, Jake, to chase their Olympic dreams.
He was cleared in February 2025 after the court poked holes in the police investigation.
In her judgment, Principal Magistrate Emily Kigen of the Elgeyo Marakwet court questioned why the matter had even gone to trial.
“From the evidence before the court, the manner in which the investigation was carried out was shoddy and wanting,” read the judgment.
According to Robertson, the incident that caused the allegations began with a social gathering at his house, attended by two male friends and two women.
He claimed the women were intoxicated and became violent when he asked them to leave, even injuring him by throwing a bottle.
Therefore, because he feared retaliation, he went to a hospital to document his injuries and filed assault forms in case charges were made against him.
However, while visiting a police station to follow up on a stolen passport the following day, the case took an unexpected turn.
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Police Officers Arrest Zane Robertson
According to him, the woman accused him of theft, leading to a police search of his home.
Also, the officers confiscated his phone mid-call with a lawyer, and later produced a rifle and ammunition allegedly found in his house.
Additionally, the Olympian claimed over Ksh5 million (US $40,000) worth of valuables were stolen from his home during the ordeal.
“The officer was already holding the gun, with no gloves. He just gave it to me, trying to get me to hold it,” said Robertson.
In court, he noted that there was confusion after three different guns with varying serial numbers were presented as exhibits.
The contradiction helped prove the charges were fabricated, and he was eventually acquitted of possession of a firearm and ammunition without a certificate.
“Everyone worked together there to make as much of it as they could from a foreigner. The captain of the station, or the highest-ranked person, these were his words: ‘We can put salt and pepper however we like on this, we can make you go down for murder, ’” said Robertson.
In March 2023, he was handed an eight-year ban by the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand for doping, specifically for using Erythropoietin (EPO) and attempting to tamper with the doping process by submitting false documents.
Robertson is back in New Zealand and trying to rebuild his life and career outside the sport.
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PHOTO/SThe POST.
