Rebecca Cheptegei, a Ugandan woman, suffered burns over 80 percent of her body and died of organ failure, doctors said.
A Ugandan runner who competed in the recent Paris Olympics has died after her former boyfriend doused her in petrol and set her on fire, authorities in the East African country said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Kenya Athletics Federation (UAF) announced that Rebecca Cheptegei suffered severe burns following Sunday’s attack and was admitted to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the death of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei… who was tragically the victim of domestic violence. As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice,” UAF wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.
Authorities in Trans-Nzoia County, western Kenya, where Cheptegei lived, reportedly claimed she was targeted by her Kenyan ex-lover after she returned from church with her two daughters.
Kenyan newspaper The Standard quoted Kimani Mbugua, head of the intensive care unit at Moi Teaching Hospital, as saying the 33-year-old athlete, who finished 44th in Paris, died of complications from “multiple organ failure”.
Just a few weeks ago, you represented our nation @Paris2024 in the women’s marathon race and the whole country was filled with excitement and today we mourn your painful loss. We hope that justice will be served @GovUganda and the Kenyan government fixes the problem. Rest in peace Rebecca💔💔💝 pic.twitter.com/9MVCqUYoG8
— UGANDA ATHLETICS FEDERATION🇺🇬🇺🇬 UAF (@UgaAthletics2) September 5, 2024
“Her injuries were extensive and covered most of her body. We tried our best, but we were unsuccessful. Given her age and the burns she suffered over 80%, the hopes of recovery were slim,” Mbugua told reporters this, according to the outlet.
Cheptegei’s attacker – identified as Dickson Ndiema Marangach – was also injured in the incident and was admitted to the intensive care unit with 30 percent burns, local media reported, citing doctors at the same hospital.
A police report cited by local media said it was a couple who “I was constantly having family quarrels over a piece of land.”
According to the BBC, Cheptegei, originally from Uganda, bought land in Trans Nzoia County and built a house in Endebess to be close to Kenya’s elite athletics training centres.
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His father, Joseph Cheptegei, told reporters the property was the source of their problems. Police said an investigation was underway.
The Olympian is the third high-profile athlete to be killed in recent years in Kenya, where a 2022 national survey found that at least 34% of women aged 15 to 49 had experienced physical violence.
In October 2021, two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medallist Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death at her home in the town of Iten. The 25-year-old’s husband, who was charged with murder, has pleaded not guilty in the ongoing case. Six months later, another Kenyan athlete, Damaris Mutua, was also found dead in the same town in April 2022, with her partner suspected of being involved.
On Thursday, Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni said: “Cheptegei’s tragic death from domestic violence is deeply disturbing.”
Kenyan Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement that “This tragedy is a stark reminder of the urgent need to combat gender-based violence, which is increasingly affecting elite sport.”
RT
