NAIROBI: The husband of Kenyan distance running star Agnes Tirop was on Tuesday charged with her murder, a day after he was found fit to stand trial.

Ibrahim Rotich, who is commonly known as Emmanuel, denied the charges when he appeared before the high court in the Rift Valley town of Eldoret.

Tirop’s body was found with stab wounds at her home in the nearby town of Iten, a high-altitude training hub in western Kenya for top runners, on Oct 13.

According to the charge sheet seen by AFP, Rotich is alleged to have killed the 25-year-old the day before her body was found in her bedroom.

The court had last week ordered Rotich to undergo a mental health test before entering a plea.

Rotich, said by police to be aged about 41, took officers on a dramatic late-night chase before his arrest on Oct 14 in the coastal city of Mombasa.

Tirop’s death threw a spotlight on the pressures faced by the country’s female athletes who pay a huge — and often tragic — price for their spectacular success in a male-dominated society. Devoted to sports from an early age, many young sportswomen lack the necessary education to manage their finances, leaving them particularly vulnerable to exploitation at the hands of coaches, agents and even their loved ones.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2021