Johannesburg — Ugandan athletics officials said Thursday that the country’s Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei had died in a hospital in neighboring Kenya, where she was being treated for burns to 80 percent of her body after her boyfriend allegedly doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. Cheptegei, 33, died of organ failure on Thursday morning, four days after she was attacked by her partner during a dispute over land, according to police.
Cheptegi finished 44th in the marathon at the recent Paris Olympics and was well known in the marathon running world. Trans Nzoia County Police Commissioner Jeremiah ole Kosiom said on Monday that Cheptegei’s boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, bought a jerrycan of petrol and set her on fire after the argument on Sunday.
“The couple were heard arguing outside their house. During the argument, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman and then burning her,” local police chief Jeremiah Ole Kosiom told Kenyan media.
AP
Both Cheptegei and Ndiema suffered burns and were taken to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, western Kenya, after neighbours reported hearing screams and seeing fire.
“May her gentle soul rest in peace and we strongly condemn violence against women,” Donald Rukare, president of the Uganda Olympic Committee, said in a social media post on Thursday. “This was a cowardly and senseless act that resulted in the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will live on.”
The Uganda Olympic Committee called in a statement on Thursday for “law enforcement authorities to act swiftly and decisively to bring the perpetrator of this cowardly and deplorable act to justice.”
Two Kenyan elite runners, Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua were both killed by their partners in the same area as Cheptegi within six months.
Tirop’s death in October 2021 sparked protests that were intensified when hundreds of athletes took to the streets in the town of Iten, demanding stricter laws and gender-specific counselling centres.
Tirop’s husband is on trial for the murder of the 25-year-old runner.
The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics released a report in early 2023 showing that 34% of women in the country had experienced physical violence after reaching the age of 15. Women who were or had been married were almost twice as likely to report the violence.
Sarah Carter
