Officials from Uganda’s athletics department confirmed on Thursday that Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei died at a hospital in Kenya, where she was receiving treatment for burns covering 80% of her entire body. Her boyfriend is suspected to have doused her in gasoline and set fire to her. Cheptegei died of organ failure on Thursday morning, four days after her attack.
Cheptegi was well-known in the running community for placing 44th at the recent Paris Olympics in the marathon. Jeremiah Ole Kosiom, the Trans Nzoia County Police commander, said that Cheptegei’s boyfriend Dickson Ndiema had purchased a jerrican filled with gasoline and doused it on her during a land dispute.
The couple was heard fighting outside their home. During the altercation the boyfriend was seen to pour a liquid onto the woman and then burn her,” Ole Ksiom reported to Kenyan media.
After neighbors heard shouting and saw fire, they brought Cheptegei and Ndiema to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, located in Eldoret (western Kenya), after both suffered burns.
Donald Rukare, President of the Ugandan Olympic Committee, said on Thursday in a post to social media that “may her gentle soul rest peacefully and we condemn violence against women.” “This was a cowardly, senseless act which has resulted in the death of a great sportsperson. Her legacy will endure.”
In a statement released on Thursday, the Ugandan Olympic Committee called for “law enforcement agencies” to take immediate and decisive actions to bring those responsible for this cowardly act to justice.
In the same area, Agnes Tirop, and Damaris Mutua were allegedly killed by their partners six months apart.
The death of Tirop in October 2021 led to protests, which were amplified by hundreds of athletes who took to the streets and called for strict laws and outreach centers based on gender.
Tirop’s spouse is being tried for the murder of the 25-year-old runner.
Kenya’s Bureau of National Statistics released a report in 2023 which found that 34% of Kenyan women had experienced violence since the age of 15. Women who had or were married reported violence at a rate almost twice as high.
