Sadness and anger in Kenya for the funeral of Kenyan athlete Agnes Tirop
Hellen Obiri, close to murdered athlete Agnes Tirop, spoke at her funeral in Kapnyamisa village, Kenya on October 23, 2021. REUTERS - MONICAH MWANGI
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Agnes Tirop was buried in her family village in western Kenya.
The young athlete was found dead on October 13 in her room in Iten, a major training center for Kenyan athletes.
The funeral lasted five hours.
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With our correspondent in Nairobi,
Albane Thirouard
Like all media in Kenya, NTV private TV relayed the event.
"
We are starting this diary in the district of Nandi where the funeral of the slain athlete, Agnès Tirop, is underway at her family home ...
"
Agnes Tirop would have been 26 this Saturday, October 23.
Several hundred people came to pay homage to him.
His relatives, but also politicians, coaches, athletes ... Many wearing the iconic red t-shirt of the Kenyan athletics federation.
Flower petals were thrown at the coffin.
And moving praise followed one another.
Athletes spoke of the shattered fate of a promising athlete.
With tears in her eyes, the runner Hellen Obiri, Agnès Tirop's mentor, described having lost "
a heroine
".
Emotion also in the streets of Nairobi, more than 300 kilometers from the family village, located next to Lake Victoria: “
It is very sad to see such a young person lose their life.
And especially when it is not caused by an illness but by violence.
It is a great loss for the whole country.
"
The emotion was high at the funeral of Agnès Tirop, on October 23, 2021. REUTERS - MONICAH MWANGI
The loss of "a diamond"
“
It hurt me a lot when I heard the news.
It could be my daughter!
The government should put in place measures to better protect its athletes, especially women.
Some are so young… She was only 25 years old…
”
After the emotion, the anger.
Stabbed, her murder raised the issue of domestic violence in Kenya.
Many Kenyans are calling for justice for Agnes Tirop.
The main suspect, her husband, is currently in pre-trial detention.
► Read also:
Kenya: for female athletes like Agnes Tirop, success rhymes with danger
Friday, the day before the funeral, in the streets of Eldoret, several athletes marched next to Agnes Tirop's coffin to denounce gender violence.
Then, on Saturday, to pay tribute to him, the president of the Kenyan athletics federation announced that the cross-country world championships race to be held in Kenya next February will bear his name.
During the funeral, he called the young athlete a "
heroine
" recalling her commitment to financially help young people to go to school.
Agnes Tirop finished 4th in the 5000m in Tokyo and had just broken the women's 10km world record.
The national athletics federation lamented the loss of a "
diamond
".
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