Athlete Agnes Tirop’s family, activists protest in court as murder trial stalls again over missing prime suspect
Vincent Tirop (left), father of the late international athlete Agnes Tirop addresses the media alongside human rights activists outside the Eldoret High Court in Uasin Gishu County on June 12, 2025. The group decried repeated adjournments in the murder case against Tirop’s estranged husband, Ibrahim Rotich, who went missing after skipping multiple court appearances.
Ms Tirop was found dead at her Iten town home on October 13, 2021, and her body had stabbing wounds.
Until her demise, Ms Tirop was a double World 10,000m bronze medallist, the 2015 World Cross Country champion, and finished fourth in the 5,000m at the Tokyo Olympics.
The High Court in Eldoret witnessed dramatic scenes on Thursday, with the family of the late world-celebrated athlete, Agnes Tirop, and human rights activists staging protests over the adjournment of her murder case after the prime suspect went missing.
Mr Ibrahim Rotich, the estranged husband of the late international long-distance runner and two-time World 10,000 metres bronze medallist, was charged with her murder, but has been missing court hearings for the last four months, forcing adjournments.
