Kenyan police arrest suspect in Agnes Tirop’s murder Ibrahim Rotich had fled Iten by car and was apprehended hundreds of kilometers away

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations-Kenya tweeted Thursday that it had arrested Ibrahim Rotich, who had fled after allegedly killing Agnes Tirop, one of the nation’s top runners, at her home in Iten. Tirop was discovered dead on Wednesday, with multiple stab wounds to her abdomen. The 25-year-old was a two-time world 10,000m bronze medalist and the 2015 World Cross-Country champion. 

We reported earlier that police were looking for Tirop’s husband, who was identified as Emmanuel Ibrahim Kipleting. The suspect in custody is believed to be the same individual, although he is described as being “in a relationship” with Tirop. He was arrested in Changamwe, Mombasa county, which is at least 750 km from Iten.  

According to the tweet by DCI Kenya, earlier on the day he was apprehended Rotich had crashed his car into a truck in Athi River, southeast of Nairobi, while trying to flee. It’s expected he will be charged with Tirop’s murder.

Tirop was the second-youngest person ever to win the World Cross Country Championships, after South Africa’s Zola Budd. She won the bronze medal in the 10,000m at the World Championships in 2017 and 2019, and she represented Kenya at the Tokyo Olympics this summer, where she placed fourth in the 5,000m. Only a month ago, Tirop also smashed the women’s-only 10 km record in Germany, running 30:01 to break the previous record 28 seconds. 

posted Friday October 15th
by Anne Francis