Ibrahim Rotich, a man accused of killing his wife, athlete Agnes Tirop has pleaded not guilty to murder charges that he is facing at an Eldoret High Court.
Rotich was presented before Justice Reuben Nyakundi, to take a plea over the murder charge, after a medical examination confirmed that he is fit to stand trial.
The prosecution accuses him of killing the athlete on October 12, 2021, at Rural Estate in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County.
A postmortem on the body of the athlete showed that she was stabbed and hit with a blunt object.
But appearing before Justice Nyakundi, Rotich denied the charges. He also filed an application to be released on bail.
The court ruled that hearing on the application will be on December 1, 2021.
Ibrahim Rotich will continue to be remanded at the Eldoret GK Prison pending hearing and determination of the bail application.
Agnes Tirop was a Kenyan professional long-distance runner who mainly competed in the 5000 meters and cross country running.
At the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, she became the second-youngest ever gold medallist in the women’s race after Zola Budd. She was a medallist at the junior level at the World Cross Country and World Junior Championships in Athletics. She was also the junior champion at the African Cross Country Championships in 2014.
Agnes Tirop held a 5000 m best of 14:50.36 minutes. She won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters events at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships and, at the time of her death in 2021, she was the world-record holder in the 10 kilometers women’s only event.
