The family of slain athlete, Agnes Tirop, has issued tough warnings to the kin of prime suspect Ibrahim Rotich as plans for the burial of the Olympian continue.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, October 20, Tirop's uncles warned that they will not allow any member of the Rotich family to attend the athlete's funeral as the police prepared to charge their son with the athlete's murder.
The uncles castigated the Rotich family for allowing their son to live with their daughter without following the necessary traditions on marriage.
According to the uncles, they had learnt that members of the Rotich family intended to attend Tirop's funeral, but stated that they will block them from accessing the funeral venue.
Further, the Tirop family stated that it will not accept cows that the Rotich family is planning on giving them. This is after reports emerged that the Rotich's wanted to be part of the funeral since they considered Tirop as their daughter.
They also rejected plans by the Rotich family to pay dowry arguing that they should have done that when their son eloped with their daughter while she was in high school.
Tirop's family brought elders to the home where the athlete was found with stab wounds to perform rituals that were meant to allow the family to take over the house.
"We have exorcised the bad spirits and the house is now ready for anyone to live in. As our tradition dictates, we have smeared the house with cow dung and sprinkled it with milk. We have cast a spell on all those involved in the brutal killing of our daughter," Kalenjin elder, Kirwa Bitok, stated.
The Rotich family had visited Tirop's kin and asked for forgiveness over the loss of her life at the hands of their son.
Tirop's younger sister, Evelyn Jepng’etich, who lived with the athlete, narrated how she heard a commotion in her sister’s bedroom on Monday night before the athlete was found dead on Wednesday.
“Not once, but on several occasions, my sister was savagely beaten. Even on the day, she returned from the Olympic games, that night she did not sleep, but was wailing the entire night because of the beatings. In the morning, her face was swollen and bruised,” Jepng’etich stated.
“My sister had confided in me that Rotich was abusing her, but she opened up too late. On Monday night, I heard a loud commotion in my sister’s bedroom before she was discovered dead on Wednesday.”
The Olympian will be laid to rest on Saturday, October 23, the day she would have marked her 26th birthday.
