Uganda’s Rebecca Cheptegei suffered burns to 80% of her body and died due to organ failure, doctors have said
A Ugandan runner who competed in the recent Olympic Games in Paris has died after her former boyfriend doused her in petrol and set her on fire, authorities in the East African nation have reported.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Athletics Federation (UAF) announced that Rebecca Cheptegei had suffered severe burns as a result of the attack on Sunday and had been admitted to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya.
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei … who tragically fell victim to domestic violence. As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice,” UAF wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.
Authorities in Kenya’s western county of Trans-Nzoia, where Cheptegei lived, reportedly claimed she had been targeted by her Kenyan ex-lover after returning home from church with her two daughters.
Kenyan newspaper The Standard cited Kimani Mbugua, head of the intensive care unit at the Moi Teaching Hospital, as saying that the 33-year-old athlete, who finished 44th in Paris, died due to “multiple organ failure.”
“Her injuries were extensive and covered most parts of her body. We tried our best, but we did not succeed. Looking at her age and the over 80% burns she suffered, the hope of recovery was slim,” Mbugua told reporters, according to the outlet.
Cheptegei’s attacker – identified as Dickson Ndiema Marangach – also sustained injuries in the incident and was admitted to the intensive care unit with 30% burns, local media reported, citing doctors at the same hospital.
A police report quoted by local media said they were a couple who “constantly had family wrangles over a piece of land.”
According to the BBC, Cheptegei, who hailed from Uganda, purchased a plot in Trans Nzoia County and built a house in Endebess to be close to Kenya’s elite athletics training centers.
Her father Joseph Cheptegei told reporters that the property was the source of their problems. Police said an investigation is ongoing.
The Olympian is the third renowned sportswoman killed in recent years in Kenya, where a 2022 national survey found that at least 34% of females aged 15 to 49 have been physically abused.
In October 2021, two-time World Athletics Championships bronze medalist Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death at her home in the town of Iten. The 25-year-old’s husband, charged with murder, has pleaded not guilty in the ongoing case. Six months later, another Kenyan athlete, Damaris Mutua, was also found dead in the same town in April 2022, with her partner suspected to be involved.
On Thursday, Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni said: “Cheptegei’s tragic death due to domestic violence is deeply disturbing.“
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