“Tragedy”, “femicide”, “senseless violence”: the world of athletics and associations in East Africa strongly condemned on Thursday the death in Kenya of Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, burned alive by a man presented as her companion.
The 33-year-old athlete, who took part in the marathon at the Paris Olympic Games (44th), died on Thursday at 5:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. GMT).
With her body burned “more than 80%”, “hopes of recovery were slim” and she succumbed to “multiple organ failure”, explained Kimani Mbugua, doctor in charge of the intensive care unit at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in the town of Eldoret.
She was hospitalized on Sunday after being doused with gasoline 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 Standard, in a house she had built in Endebess, a town in western Kenya where she trained, 25 kilometres from the Ugandan border.
A police report described the athlete and the suspect as “a couple who had constant domestic disputes.”
According to Rebecca Cheptegei’s father, the attack stemmed from a dispute over the land his daughter had purchased to build her house.
– “It’s a femicide”-
The announcement of his death immediately sparked strong emotion in Uganda and Kenya.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to address gender-based violence in our society, which has emerged in elite sporting circles in recent years,” Kenyan Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement.
Ugandan Olympic Committee President Donald Rukare denounced in a message on X “a cowardly and senseless act”, saying: “We strongly condemn violence against women”.
“Rebecca Cheptegei is dead. We speak your name from the land of the living. Rest in peace. Yes, it is a femicide. We must put an end to femicides,” also reacted 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 in the country.
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) horrible attack” in a message on Instagram.
“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.
In October 2021, the murder 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, 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 on the Rift Valley plateaus.
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 having killed her.
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