Tirop family up in arms after murder case adjourned again

Slain athlete Agnes Tirop’s father, Vincent Tirop (L) and uncle, Daniel Kiptum, with other family members outside the High Court in Eldoret on March 26, 2026/HANDOUT

The family of murdered athlete Agnes Tirop staged a protest outside the High Court in Eldoret after the case was adjourned once again.

The hearing failed to proceed following the transfer of Justice Robert Wananda, who had handled the case for the past three years.

Family members, led by Tirop’s father Vincent Tirop and uncle Daniel Kiptum, had turned up in court for the hearing but were informed that the matter had been pushed to April 16.

They reacted angrily, accusing the Judiciary of mishandling the case, especially after the main suspect, Ibrahim Rotich, was released on bond and later went missing more than a year ago.

“For how long will we keep coming here without getting justice? We opposed the release of the suspect on bond, but the court ignored our plea, and he later disappeared,” Vincent said.

Rotich had been granted Sh500,000 bail, which he paid before his release. The amount was later forfeited to the state after he absconded.

Justice Wananda subsequently issued a warrant of arrest and directed that the case proceeds in the absence of the suspect.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has since applied to have the trial continue without Rotich.

Through prosecutors Lucas Tanui and Clea Mureithi, the state told the court that detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations were yet to trace the suspect.

“Since there has been no progress in tracing the suspect, we are seeking time to file an application to proceed with the case in his absence,” Tanui said.

The prosecution argued that the law allows such proceedings even as efforts to arrest the suspect continue.

Lawyer Richard Warigi, representing the victim’s family, supported the move to proceed without the accused.

However, the family expressed fears that justice may not be served unless Rotich is rearrested.

A senior DCI officer, appearing virtually, told the court that efforts to trace and arrest the suspect were ongoing.

Tirop’s parents, Vincent and Dinah Tirop, alongside other family members, have been attending all court sessions since the case began.

The Kenyan long-distance runner was murdered on October 13, 2021, at her home in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet county.

She was found with multiple stab wounds to the neck and abdomen.

A postmortem conducted at Iten County Referral Hospital revealed that she suffered fatal neck stab wounds and blunt force trauma to the head.