Rebecca Cheptegei, a Ugandan Olympian, 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, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, Cheptegei’s partner, allegedly doused her with fuel and set her on fire on Sunday at her home in Endebess, Trans-Nzoia’s western county.
The incident occurred two weeks after Cheptegei, 33, competed in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, finishing 44th.
Cheptegei had 80 percent of her body burnt and was struggling for her life at a Kenyan hospital, the facility’s interim director 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 gathered 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.
The suspect was also wounded in the incident, sustaining 30 percent burns on his body.
“As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest in peace.”
The attack on Chetegei has once again highlighted domestic violence in Kenya.
The assault came two years after Kenyan-born athlete Damaris Mutua was discovered dead in Iten, a world-famous running destination in the Rift Valley.
Agnes Tirop, 25, a record-breaking Kenyan runner, was found stabbed to death at her house in Iten in 2021.
Her estranged spouse is on trial for her murder but has rejected the charges.
According to the latest numbers from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, published in January 2023, 34% of women in the country had suffered physical assault since the age of 15.
