Rebecca Cheptegei, an Olympic marathon runner from Uganda, was set on fire by her boyfriend and later died at the hospital, according to Ugandan athletics officials. Just weeks earlier, the 33-year-old had competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Cheptegei was attacked by her boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, following a land dispute over a recently purchased plot just outside Kenya’s athletics training center in Trans Nzoia. He reportedly poured gasoline over her body and then set her on fire. Cheptegei died from organ failure as a result of the severity of the burns, which covered 80 percent of her body.
Ndiema also suffered burns but not to the extent of Cheptegei and is reportedly in stable condition.
Neighbors heard the argument outside, according to The Standard. The outlet said the two neighbors eventually stopped the fire and took them to the hospital.
“May her gentle soul rest in peace and we strongly condemn violence against women,” said Donald Rukare, the president of the Uganda Olympic Committee, in a statement. “This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure.”
Cheptegei, who was a mother of two, is the latest victim in what has become a growing issue in Kenya for women subject to male attacks. The BBC said that a national survey in 2022 found that 34 percent of women in Kenya experience physical violence. The outlet also spoke with Kenya’s Sports Minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, who said this is a “stark reminder of the urgent need to combat gender-based violence.”
She is not the first female Olympic athlete believed to have been killed by their significant other. In 2021, Agnes Tirop, an world-record-setting Olympic runner from Kenya, was stabbed to death; her husband was charged with her murder. In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Mutua was strangled by her boyfriend, who reportedly remains on the run.
The post Ugandan Olympic Athlete Dies After Boyfriend Sets Her on Fire appeared first on VICE.
The post Ugandan Olympic Athlete Dies After Boyfriend Sets Her on Fire appeared first on VICE.
