Athlete Tirop was often assaulted by her lover, court told

Slain World Cross-Country champion Agnes Tirop was in a toxic relationship with her lover Ibrahim Rotich, Eldoret High Court was told yesterday.

Eve Jepngetich, 22, the deceased’s younger sister, told Justice Wananda Anuro that Tirop was going through an abusive relationship with Rotich who is the prime suspect in her murder.

In her testimony-in-chief, Jepngetich claimed that to the best of her knowledge, the accused and her sister were lovers and were not married as claimed by Rotich’s lawyer Ngigi Mbugua.

She was testifying in a case in which Rotich is accused of killing Tirop at their home in the outskirts of Iten town, Elgeyo Marakwet County two years ago.

Rotich (pictured) has denied the charge of murdering the athlete in November 2021.

A postmortem report conducted by a pathologist at the Iten County Referral Hospital mortuary revealed the runner had suffered neck stabs and was hit on the head with a blunt object.

Jepngetich said she lived with her sister in Iten since 2019 when she was also training alongside her.

Swollen cheek

She recounted that Rotich and her sister used to engage in quarrels that led to physical fights.

“I was woken up in my sleep on several occasions by confrontations and bitter exchanges between the accused and my sister in the night,” she said.

She recalled an incident in June 2021 when, she said, Tirop was assaulted and injured by Rotich after she arrived from Tokyo, Japan, where she had participated in a marathon.

 “When I entered the house, I saw my sister sitting on the floor with her left cheek swollen from the beating. Rotich, who was half naked, was holding a wooden stick,” recounted Jepngetich.