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“Heinous crime”, “femicide”, “senseless violence”: the world of athletics and women’s rights associations strongly condemned on Thursday the death in Kenya of Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, burned alive by a man presented as her partner. The 33-year-old athlete, who had participated in the marathon at the Paris Olympic Games (44th), died on Thursday at 5:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. GMT).
“A couple who constantly had family disputes”
With her body burned “more than 80%”, “hopes of recovery were slim” and she succumbed to “multiple organ failure”, said Kimani Mbugua, a doctor in charge of the intensive care unit at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret town. She was hospitalised on Sunday after being doused in petrol and set alight in her home by the suspect, identified as Dickson Ndiema Marangach, as she was returning from church with her children.
The marathon runner lived with her sister and her two daughters, aged 9 and 11, according to the Kenyan daily. The Standardin a house she had built in Endebess, the town where she trained, 25 kilometres from the Ugandan border.
A police report described the athlete and the suspect as “a couple who constantly had family disputes.” According to Rebecca Cheptegei’s father, the attack stemmed from a dispute over the land his daughter had purchased to build her house.
“Deep indignation” from Paris 2024 organizers
The news of the brutal murder has sparked widespread emotion in Kenya, Uganda and beyond. “The news of the tragic death of our daughter, Rebecca Cheptegei, as a result of domestic violence is deeply disturbing,” Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni, who is also Minister of Sports, said on X. “This tragedy is a powerful reminder that we must do more to combat gender-based violence in our society, which has emerged in elite sporting circles in recent years,” Kenyan Minister of Sports Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement.
The organizers of the Paris Games have expressed to AFP their “deep indignation” in the face of a “heinous crime (which) reminds us of the alarming reality of the violence that affects too many women in society.” “Rebecca Cheptegei is dead. (…) Yes, it is a femicide. We must put an end to femicides,” declared on X Njeri Migwi, co-founder of the association “Usikimye” (“Don’t stay silent” in Swahili), a shelter for victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
This death comes on top of those of many other women in Kenya, where 152 femicides were recorded in 2023 by the organization Femicide Count Kenya, which emphasizes that “the real number is certainly higher” because it is not aware of all the cases.
A report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported 725 cases of femicide in 2022, the highest number since the count began in 2015. The world of athletics in Kenya has been particularly affected by this violence in recent years.
Agnes Tirop, the trigger
Romanian athlete of Kenyan origin Joan Chelimo said she was “deeply shocked and outraged by (this) horrific attack”. “This senseless violence must stop. As an athlete and activist against gender-based violence, my commitment to raising awareness and working towards a future where everyone can live without fear of violence remains unwavering”, added the European half-marathon vice-champion, who co-founded the Tirop’s Angels association, created in Kenya by athletes to fight against violence against women after the death of Agnes Tirop.
The murder in October 2021 of this promising 25-year-old athlete, double world bronze medalist in the 10,000m (2017, 2019) and 4th in the Tokyo Olympics in the 5,000m, had shocked the world of athletics in Kenya, where this sport is king.
The young woman was found stabbed to death at her home in Iten, a famous training ground for long-distance running in the Rift Valley. Her husband Emmanuel Ibrahim Rotich is being prosecuted for murder. He denies the charges. His trial is ongoing. In April 2022, another Bahraini athlete of Kenyan origin, Damaris Mutua, was found dead in Iten. Her partner is suspected of killing her.
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