Olympic champion Samwel Wanjiru’s wife Tereza Njeri on Tuesday said she wants a divorce.She said she had made the decision because of what she described as his relatives’ interference in domestic matters. Refuting claims that she had reconciled with her husband, Tereza said she feared for her life and was no longer prepared to stay in the marriage. “We had no problem last year but it appears we have a conflict with his mother. I want a divorce now,” she said.

Last week, the 2008 Beijing Olympic marathon champion was charged at the Nyahururu law court with threatening his wife with an illegal firearm. He was also charged with threatening to kill the family’s househelp Nancy Njoki and injuring security guard William Masinde. He denied the charges and was freed on a bond of Sh300,000, with a similar surety.

The case attracted both local and international media attention. Two days later, Wanjiru said he had reconciled with his wife, which she denies. “We haven’t talked about anything, we haven’t discussed it yet,’’ she said.

Senior resident magistrate Ms Alice Mong’are has set January 9 for mention and March 14 for hearing. Tereza says she wants part of Wanjiru’s wealth because he accumulated his riches when she was his wife. She also wants him to educate their two children. If it goes through, Wanjiru could become the latest sports personality after Tiger Woods to go through a messy divorce.