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The family of 10km World Record holder Agnes Tirop has confirmed it is establishing a foundation named Tirop's Angels in her memory, standing in unity against Gender-Based Violence (GBV).
Tirop's Angels founded by family and fellow athletes in support of the Nandi County Government “first order of business” is to put an end to GBV.
“Four out of ten women in Kenya are likely to face gender-based violence (GBV) in their lifetime. Agnes Jebet Tirop was one of them.
She was brutally murdered. We declare we will keep silent no more. We declare that some of us have been abused.
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We declare that some of us are being abused. We declare that we are coming together. We declare that GBV must be stopped forever,” read a statement from the foundation’s social media pages.
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In Kenya, the female population is most affected with 56% women and 36% girls reported cases of GBV. According to the Gender Violence and Recovery Centre (GVRC) one-in-three women has experienced an episode of sexual violence before attaining age 18.
“We will work, educate, lobby and help hold accountable those who perpetrate crimes and injustices against the vulnerable, women and children, especially.
Agnes Jebet Tirop was murdered. Our responsibility is to keep her name alive and ever-present as we work in her memory to better our communities and our motherland,” the statement from Tirop's Angels stated.
On Monday, October 15, Tirop’s husband, Ibrahim Rotich appeared in court as a suspect in Tirop’s murder.
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Iten chief magistrate announced that Rotich will remain in police custody for 20 days while authorities complete their investigation. He also said Rotich will undergo a mental assessment.
According to the police, Rotich confessed to killing Tirop before he fled their Iten home. He left a note in which he admitted to killing her and said their “relationship was full of fights.”