NAIROBI, Kenya, May 12 – The High Court in Eldoret has declined to give bond to Ibrahim Rotich, the chief suspect in the gruesome murder of celebrated Kenyan athlete Agnes Tirop on October 13 last year.
The suspect who was arrested after a dramatic chase that led detectives to Changamwe, Mombasa, had requested bail, but presiding judge Justice Reuben Nyakundi declined, saying his conduct had given the court doubts over his cooperation in the case.
“Bearing in mind that the matter before us is associated with gender-based violence and your conduct as the accused person has made this court to doubt if released on bond you will be available during the proceedings. Even personal circumstances and steps you took after the incident have made this court ask so many questions about your availability if released on bond,” Justiced Nyakundi ruled, as queted by Daily Nation.
He further added; “The manner in which you behaved from the beginning makes this court deny you a bond. However, you have a right to request the court to revisit the ruling at a later stage.”
The judge further added that the prosection had presented ‘overwhelming evidence’ linking Rotich to the murder of Tirop, who was until then, his lover.
The case will now be mentioned on June 22.
Tirop’s murder at her house in Iten last year elicited huge reaction from all Kenyans and the entire world, with President Uhuru Kenyatta personally directing that the perpetrators of the heinous act should be dealt with accordingly.
The former World Cross Country champion was murdered just a few days after arriving back home from a race, and her mutilated body was found in the bedroom of her house.
It is alleged that she had been in strained relations with Rotich, who was arrested a few days after the murder.
