Kenyan Olympian murder trial postponed as suspect fails to attend court
Kenyan Olympic runner Agnes Tirop, who was brutally murdered in October 2021, has yet to receive justice nearly five years after her death.
Tirop, a celebrated long-distance runner who set a world record in the women’s 10-kilometre road race in Germany and won two World Athletics Championship bronze medals, was found stabbed at her home in Iten, Rift Valley, on October 13, 2021. She was laid to rest on October 23, 2021, the day she would have turned 26.
The main suspect in her murder, her husband Ibrahim Rotich, has failed to appear in court yet again, leaving Tirop’s family devastated and angry over the slow pace of the case.
“I don't know what the court is going to tell us today, and we don't want them to play any games,” said Dinah Tirop, Agnes’s mother. “We want that man to be found and apprehended. That man did us no good, and the court is taking it lightly. Why is the court taking this case lightly, while this man killed my child?,” she shared with Viory.
Kenyan Olympian murder trial postponed as husband and prime suspect fails to attend court
Agnes’s father, Vincent Tirop, echoed the family’s frustration. “Since the year 2021, it's been about five years now, but we have not gotten justice for Agnes. Now we are calling on the government, especially the Judiciary and Chief Justice Martha Koome. We want to see justice for our daughter granted,” he said outside the Eldoret High Court, where family members gathered wearing shirts printed with Agnes’s photo.
High Court Judge Robert Wananda addressed the case, acknowledging updates from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) while emphasizing the sensitivity of ongoing efforts to locate the suspect. “Having heard from Corporal Ndeto from the DCI, who has briefed the court on the progress made… I grant the DCI through Corporal Ndeto more time to proceed and continue with the efforts to trace and apprehend the accused person,” Justice Wananda said.
The judge set the next court mention for September 18, 2025, but assured the family that if Rotich is apprehended earlier, he will be brought before the court immediately.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
