Kenyan authorities issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for Ibrahim Rotich, the husband of slain track star Agnes Tirop, after he failed to appear in court for the second time.
Tirop, a rising star in Kenyan athletics, was found stabbed to death in October 2021 at the age of 25. Her killing sent shockwaves through the sports world.
Rotich, 45, is the prime suspect in the case but was released on bail in November 2023 after spending two years in custody.
Despite being due to appear in Eldoret court, the prosecuting lawyer, Leonard Okaka, stated that Rotich was “nowhere to be traced.”
He had also failed to attend a hearing last month. As a result, Eldoret High Court Judge Robert Wananda issued an arrest warrant, ordering police to present Rotich in court by April 8.
Under his bail conditions, Rotich was prohibited from leaving Uasin Gishu County, where Eldoret is located, and was required to check in at a local police station weekly.
Prosecutors have demanded an explanation from the police and have called for Rotich’s 400,000 shillings ($3,000) bail to be forfeited.
Agnes Tirop was a two-time world 10,000m bronze medallist, the 2015 world cross-country champion, and finished fourth in the 5,000m at the Tokyo Olympics. Just a month before her death, she set a world record in the 10 km women-only road race in Germany.
Her case is part of a troubling pattern of violence against female athletes in Kenya. Ugandan long-distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei was murdered by her boyfriend last year, marking the third such killing of a female athlete in Kenya since 2021.
