The High Court in Eldoret has directed that Ibrahim Rotich - the prime suspect in the murder of athlete Agnes Tirop - be taken for mental assessment at the Moi Referral Hospital before being charged.
Rotich was Tirop's boyfriend.
Deputy Registrar of the High Court in Eldoret Diana Milimo on Tuesday ordered that Rotich be produced before the court on November 16 to be charged with the murder of the athlete.
State Counsel David Fedha said the suspect had to undergo the mental tests before being charged.
"We are here just to apply for the suspect to be escorted for the mental assessment before being brought back for plea taking," Fedha said.
Accused's lawyer Ngige Mbugua said the defence was not opposed to the application for mental assessment.
"We had already made the same application at a the lower court in Iten and we do not object to the application," Mbugua said.
Rotich first appeared before Resident Magistrate Naomi Wairimu in Iten after being held for 20 days to facilitate investigations into the death of the athlete.
Wairimu directed that he be transferred to the High Court in Eldoret
He is expected to answer to murder charges on Tuesday next week.
Tirop was on October 13 found dead in her house in Iten where she lived with Rotich.
A postmortem revealed that she died after being stabbed on the neck and being hit by a blunt object in the head.
