INTERNATIONAL – Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei has died from burns, the president of the Ugandan Olympic Committee announced on Thursday, September 5, four days after a man presented as her partner set her on fire in western Kenya.
“We have learned of the sad passing of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei following a violent attack by her boyfriend. May her soul rest in peace and we strongly condemn violence against women.”Donald Rukare said in a message on X. “This was a cowardly and senseless act that led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will live on.”he added.
The Uganda Athletics Federation said: deeply saddened” of the death of his athlete “ tragic victim of domestic violence”in a message on X. We condemn such acts and call for justice.”.
The 33-year-old athlete, who had competed in the marathon at the Paris Olympics in August (44th), was being treated at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in the town of Eldoret, in western Kenya, where she was in a “ critical condition » after being burned at “ more than 80% »the doctors had indicated.
“All his organs stopped (functioning) last night”a doctor confirmed to AFP on condition of anonymity. A hospital staff member had previously told AFP on Wednesday, on condition of anonymity, that the young woman’s condition had worsened after “ developed a bacterial infection of sepsis”.
The tragedy took place on Sunday
According to a police report seen by AFP, the suspect identified as Dickson Ndiema Marangach entered Rebecca Cheptegei’s property around 2 p.m. local time (11 a.m. GMT), while she was at church with her children.
The marathon runner lived with her sister and her two children in this house that she had built in Endebess, a locality where she trained located 25 kilometres from the Ugandan border, her father Joseph Cheptegei, present in Eldoret, explained on Tuesday.
When they returned from church, he doused her with gasoline and set her on fire in front of her children, two girls aged 9 and 11, according to the daily. The Standard.
Uncertainties over the relationship between the athlete and the suspect
The exact relationship between the athlete and the suspect, who also suffered burns and is hospitalised at the MTRH in Eldoret, was not clear.
The police report presented Rebecca Cheptegei and Dickson Ndiema Marangach as “ a couple who constantly had family arguments”. But according to Rebecca Cheptegei’s father, his daughter “ became friends with this man, but they had disagreements and he went to live with his wife.”
In recent years, several tragedies have cast a shadow over the world of athletics in Kenya. In April 2022, the body of a Bahraini athlete of Kenyan origin, Damaris Mutua, was found in Iten, a famous training ground for long-distance running on the plateaus of the Rift Valley. Her partner is suspected of having killed her.
In October 2021, promising 25-year-old athlete Agnes Tirop, double world bronze medalist in the 10,000m (2017, 2019) and 4th in the Tokyo Olympics in the 5,000m, was found stabbed to death at her home in Iten. Her husband Emmanuel Ibrahim Rotich is being prosecuted for murder. He denies the charges. His trial is ongoing.
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