The funeral for Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who died in Kenya after being set on fire by her boyfriend, will be conducted on September 14 in her native country, organisers announced on Sunday.
The 33-year-old, who ran in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics last month, died from serious burns on Thursday, four days after being doused with petrol and set on fire at her house in western Kenya.
“The burial date of Rebecca Cheptegei has been set for September 14, in Kongasis sub-county in Bukwo district (eastern Uganda),” Beatrice Ayikoru, secretary general of the Uganda Olympic Committee and a member of the funeral organising committee, told AFP.
Bukwo, Cheptegei’s family home, is located on the Kenyan border, some 380 kilometres (240 miles) northeast of Uganda’s capital, Kampala.
Cheptegei’s killing sparked outrage and sorrow, marking the latest horrible instance of gender-based violence in Kenya, where at least two other athletes have died at the hands of their spouses.
Doctors stated she received burns on more than 80% of her body after the incident on Sunday last week. Police believe it was carried out by Cheptegei’s Kenyan partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, who also received major burns and is being treated at a hospital.
According to Kenyan media, Cheptegei’s two children, ages nine and eleven, witnessed the incident.
The city of Paris announced on Friday that it will name a sporting venue after Cheptegei, who finished 44th in her Olympic marathon debut in August.
Tributes have flooded in for the runner, who previously held Uganda’s women’s marathon record and served as a sergeant in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces.
“Our sport has lost a talented athlete in the most tragic and unthinkable circumstances,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said.
“Rebecca was an incredibly versatile runner who still had lots left to give on the roads, mountains, and cross-country trails.”
Coe stated that he was in discussions with members of World Athletics’ governing council “to assess how our safeguarding policies might be enhanced to include abuse outside of the sport and bringing together stakeholders from all areas of athletics to combine forces to protect our female athletes to the best of our abilities from abuse of all kinds.”
Cheptegei’s death has thrown a spotlight on domestic violence and femicide in Kenya, where Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said it was a “stark reminder” that more must be done to combat gender-based violence.
