Keypoints:
- Agnes Tirop’s accused killer disappears
- Activists decry systemic negligence
- Kenya recorded 170 femicides in 2023
FOUR years after celebrated Kenyan athlete Agnes Tirop was brutally murdered, the man accused of her killing has vanished after being released on bail — a development activists say underscores Kenya’s chronic failure to protect women from gender-based violence.
Tirop, a two-time world championship bronze medallist in the 10,000 metres, was found stabbed to death in her home in October 2021. Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, was arrested following a nationwide manhunt and charged with her murder. But in November 2023, after spending two years in custody, Rotich was granted bail — and now, he has disappeared.
‘Now he has absconded, and nobody knows where he is,’ Tirop’s father, Vincent Tirop, told AFP. ‘We feel betrayed by the same system we thought would help us get justice for our daughter.’
Bail decision sparks outrage
Rotich, considered a flight risk by the victim’s family and their legal team, was granted release on a bail of KSh400,000 (around $2,700 at the time). The decision shocked Tirop’s family, who said the suspect should have remained in custody due to the high-profile nature of the case and the risk of escape.
‘It struck like a thunderbolt,’ said her father. Their lawyer, Richard Warigi, said he had warned the court about the likelihood that Rotich would flee, recalling that the accused had initially been caught in Mombasa, nearly 800 kilometres from the crime scene, during a dramatic police pursuit.
Despite the warning, Warigi said the court sided with the investigating officer, who insisted the accused had a right to bail after being held for two years. Since then, Rotich has missed court dates and failed to report weekly to the police as required.
Deadliest year for Kenyan women
The case has reignited scrutiny of Kenya’s handling of gender-based violence. According to the Silencing Women Project, an NGO initiative, 170 femicides were recorded in 2023 across just 10 of Kenya’s 47 counties — making it the deadliest year on record for Kenyan women.
Femicide, defined as gender-motivated killing by a partner or family member, remains widespread, with many victims receiving little protection or justice. Activists say the Tirop case is emblematic of broader systemic failures.
‘If this can happen in the case of a famous athlete, imagine how cases that are not visible are treated,’ said women’s rights advocate Rachael Mwikali. ‘It’s a failure of the police, a failure of the judiciary, and a failure of our government.’
Zaha Indimuli, who works with the Silencing Women Project, described the handling of femicide cases as ‘complete negligence’. She said inaccurate documentation, delays, and lack of victim shelters routinely force women to return to their abusers.
State response questioned amid slow justice
Inspector General Judy Lamet, who heads Kenya’s gender-based violence unit, rejected these accusations. She cited training programmes for police and a toll-free domestic abuse hotline as signs of progress.
Since 2022, three specialised gender-based violence courts have been established. But Amnesty International’s Zaina Kombo said that’s not enough. She blamed overstretched forensic labs and prosecution teams, noting that it takes an average of four years for cases to move from arrest to judgment.
‘There’s a snail pace when it comes to gender-based violence cases,’ Kombo said. ‘There’s a lack of political goodwill.’
Although President William Ruto has promised to form a gender violence task force, Kombo expressed scepticism. ‘Kenya is still a patriarchal society,’ she added.
Rising resistance, but danger persists
In December, peaceful protests against femicide in Nairobi were met with tear gas, with some demonstrators arrested. The heavy-handed response added to public anger.
The violence has continued. A recent machete attack on a university student and the discovery of another woman’s body in a water tank sparked candle-lit vigils near Nairobi. At one such vigil, some male students joined — a rare sign of shifting attitudes, according to organiser Diana Nekesa.
‘I can’t say the majority supported us, but a good number came,’ she said. Others, however, dismissed the gathering, labelling it anti-men. ‘They are chauvinist and rooted in masculine domination,’ Nekesa added.
As outrage mounts and women demand action, the disappearance of Agnes Tirop’s accused killer sends a chilling message: justice for victims of femicide in Kenya remains elusive — even for those in the spotlight.
