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Agness Tirop’s suspect killer, Ibrahim Rotich, remains in jail, however, now he is in isolation due to having contracted smallpox.
Rotich was to appear in court for a bond hearing but is to remain in jail, as the judge of the high court adjourned proceedings.
Rotich took a plea on Nov. 16, 2021, denying the murder charge before Justice Reuben Nyakundi.
It is alleged that Rotich killed Tirop on Oct. 12, 2021, at her estate in Iten, Kenya.
Rotich had tried to flee the country but was captured by police.
Apparently, the apprehension was after a dramatic late-night arrest.
Kenyan Activists alarmed by Gender-Based Violence in Sports. Concerns follow the recent killing of two elite female runners — Agnes Tirop in October and Damaris Mutua earlier this month. https://t.co/Kyj3wqZrvR #AGAAfricaOnGBV
— AGA Africaᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠᅠ (@AGA_Africa) April 25, 2022
He was captured in Mombasa along with an unnamed friend, who is also being held.
Police tracked Rotich using his mobile number after he apparently used an old SIM card in a new phone. He was offline prior to turning the phone on.
Tributes have poured in for Tirop since her body was found with stab wounds in the bedroom of their home in Iten, a high-altitude training hub in western Kenya for many top-class athletes.
Tirop, age 25 was a Kenyan double world championship medallist.
Tirop competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and broke the world 10K road record at 30:01 this summer.
Following the race, she said, “I’m so happy to have broken the world record. I felt the pace was good. The course was very good, too.”
She won the 2015 World Cross Country Championships.
Damaris Muthee
Several hundred Kenyan and international athletes took to the streets of Iten two weeks ago to protest the increasing gender-based violence targeting women across the country.
The protest happened due to the discovery of the decomposing body of Damaris Muthee the week prior. She was found at a home in Iten. No apparent physical injuries were identified, however, she appears to have been smothered by the use of a pillow. Her alleged Ethiopian partner is now a fugitive and is identified as Eskinder Hailemariam. He is the prime suspect.
