Died of burns
Olympic runner Cheptegei murdered by ex-partner
05.09.2024, 09:01 a.m.
A serious case of violence shocks the world of sport. The runner Rebecca Cheptegei is doused with petrol and set on fire by her ex-partner. All help comes too late. A few days after the attack, the Olympic participant dies from her burns.
Mourning for Rebecca Cheptegei: The Olympic runner from Uganda has died from her severe burns. “We have learned of the sad passing of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei… following a vicious attack by her boyfriend,” wrote Donald Rukare, President of the Uganda Olympic Committee, on X.
Cheptegei was doused with petrol and set on fire by her former partner on Sunday. The 33-year-old was then treated in intensive care at a hospital in Kenya. The runner, who finished 44th in the marathon at the Olympics in Paris, has now succumbed to her injuries.
As police announced on Tuesday, Cheptegei was attacked in her house by her Kenyan ex-boyfriend Dickson Ndiema Marangach. According to initial findings, the man had sneaked into the house in Endebess in western Kenya with petrol while Cheptegei was at church with her children. When she returned, he poured the petrol over her and set her on fire, the police report said. Marangach herself was also injured by the flames.
Neighbors rescued the two and took them to a nearby hospital. From there, Cheptegei was transferred to another clinic, where she was placed in intensive care on Monday. According to media reports, 75 percent of her skin surface was burned. The police report did not say whether Cheptegei’s children were also injured. Cheptegei and Marangach had apparently had arguments before.
Violence against women is widespread in Kenya: according to official statistics, one in three women aged 15 and over has experienced physical violence. Married women are particularly at risk; according to the Kenyan Bureau of Statistics, 41 percent of married women and 20 percent of unmarried women have been victims of violence.