Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei died in Kenya on Thursday, four days after being set on fire by her boyfriend, medics and Ugandan athletics officials said. It was the latest horrific incident of gender-based violence in the East African country, where activists have warned of a femicide epidemic. “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.”
According to police, a man identified as Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, doused her with petrol and set her alight on Sunday at her home in Endebess in the western county of Trans-Nzoia.
The incident took place just weeks after Cheptegei, 33, had taken part in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, where she was placed 44th.
Cheptegei suffered burns to 80 percent of her body in the attack, the acting head of the facility where she was being treated 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.
A nurse who had been treating Cheptegei said she died at 5:00 am (0200 GMT).
A medical counsellor at the hospital had said on Wednesday that Cheptegei’s condition had worsened and that she had developed a sepsis infection.
Tributes poured in for the athlete.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei, early this morning, who tragically fell victim to domestic violence,” the Uganda Athletics Federation said on X.
“As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest in peace.”
The Kenya National Olympic Committee said on X it extended its “deepest condolences” to the Ugandan sports community, family, and friends of Cheptegei.
“Rebecca’s talent and perseverance as Uganda’s Women’s Marathon record holder and a Paris 2024 Olympian will always be remembered and celebrated,” it said.
“Her untimely and tragic passing is a profound loss and our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time as we honor her legacy and advocate for an end to gender-based violence.”
Police said Marangach had sneaked into Cheptegei’s home on Sunday afternoon while she was at church with her children.
She lived with her sister and her two daughters in Endebess, an area near the border with Uganda, her father Joseph Cheptegei had told the Kenyan media.
The Standard newspaper reported that Cheptegei’s daughters had witnessed the grisly assault.
“He kicked me while I tried to run to the rescue of my mother,” it reported one of the girls 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.
Marangach was also injured in the incident, sustaining 30 percent burns on his body. His current condition is not known.
Police said they were a couple who “constantly had family wrangles”.
The attack on Cheptegei has again thrown a spotlight on domestic violence in Kenya.
Njeri Wa Migwi, a feminist activist who founded Usikimye, an organisation that fights gender-based violence, said of her death: “Yes this is Femicide. We must end Femicide.”
The assault comes two years after Kenyan-born athlete Damaris Mutua was found dead in Iten, a world-famous running hub in the Rift Valley.
And in 2021, record-breaking Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop, 25, was found stabbed to death at her home in Iten in 2021. Her estranged husband is on trial over her murder and has denied the charges.
Latest figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics published in January 2023 found that 34 percent of women in the country had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
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