Ruth Semilore
Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei has died in Kenya four days after being set on fire by her boyfriend, Ugandan athletics officials said Thursday.
“We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei… following a vicious attack by her boyfriend,” the president of the Uganda Olympic Committee Donald Rukare said in a post on X.
“This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure,” he added.
According to police, a man identified as Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, allegedly doused her with petrol and set her alight on Sunday at her home in Endebess in the western county of Trans-Nzoia.
The incident took place just weeks after Cheptegei, 33, had taken part in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, where she placed 44th.
Cheptegei suffered burns to 80 per cent of her body and had been fighting for her life at a Kenyan hospital since the acting head of the facility told reporters on Tuesday.
“All her organs failed last night,” a medic at the facility, the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), told AFP on Thursday.
Kenyan media had reported that one of Cheptegei’s daughters witnessed the assault at her mother’s home.
“He kicked me while I tried to run to the rescue of my mother,” Kenya’s The Standard reported her as saying.
“I immediately cried out for help, attracting a neighbour who tried to extinguish the flames with water, but it was not possible,” said the girl, who has not been named.
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Marangach was also wounded in the incident, sustaining 30 per cent burns on his body.
– ‘We call for justice’ –
The Uganda Athletics Federation also reported Cheptegei’s death in a statement on X.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell victim to domestic violence,” it said.
“As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest in peace.”
The attack on Cheptegei has again thrown the spotlight on domestic violence in Kenya.
The assault comes two years after Kenyan-born athlete Damaris Mutua was found dead in Iten, a world-famous running hub in the Rift Valley.
And in 2021, record-breaking Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop, 25, was found stabbed to death at her home in Iten in 2021. Her estranged husband is on trial over her murder and has denied the charges.
Latest figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics published in January 2023 found that 34 per cent of women in the country had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
