Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei Dies After Being Set Ablaze by Boyfriend.
Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei has died in Kenya, four days after her boyfriend allegedly set her on fire. The Ugandan athletics community confirmed her death on Thursday.
“We have learned of the tragic passing of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei following a brutal attack by her boyfriend,” Donald Rukare, president of the Uganda Olympic Committee, posted on X. “This senseless act has taken away a great athlete. Her legacy will endure.
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According to police, Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, allegedly doused her with petrol and ignited the flames at her home in Endebess, Trans-Nzoia County, on Sunday. The attack occurred shortly after the 33-year-old competed in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, where she finished 44th.
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Cheptegei sustained burns covering 80 percent of her body and had been struggling for her life at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kenya. “All her organs failed last night,” a medic at the facility told AFP on Thursday.
Reports indicate that one of Cheptegei’s daughters witnessed the assault. According to Kenya’s The Standard, the child tried to flee to get help but was kicked by Marangach. A neighbor attempted to extinguish the flames with water but was unsuccessful.
Marangach also suffered burns to 30 percent of his body during the incident.
The Uganda Athletics Federation expressed profound sadness over Cheptegei’s death and condemned the violence. “We call for justice,” the federation stated on X. “May her soul rest in peace.”
This incident highlights the ongoing issue of domestic violence in Kenya, which was previously underscored by the deaths of Kenyan-born athlete Damaris Mutua and record-breaking runner Agnes Tirop. The latest figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicate that 34 percent of women in Kenya have experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
