FEMINICIDE – “You make sacrifices and then you end up in a grave.” Rebecca Cheptegei’s relatives, as well as the world of athletics, strongly condemned on Thursday, September 5, the death in Kenya of the Ugandan marathon runner, burned alive by a man presented as her companion.
The 33-year-old athlete, who had participated in the marathon at the Paris Olympic Games (44th), died Thursday at 05:30 (02:30 GMT). With her body burned “more than 80%”, “The hopes of recovery were slim” and she succumbed to “multiple organ failure”explained Kimani Mbugua, a doctor in charge of the intensive care unit at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret town.
As you can see in the video at the top of the articlethe young woman’s parents shared their emotion as she left the hospital, describing a “nice” and “polite” child, who “didn’t have many problems”.
African female runners who have rubbed shoulders with Rebecca Cheptegei have also expressed their outrage. “We make a lot of sacrifices in this sport. And then… you end up mistreated, in a grave,” said Joan Chelimo, a Kenyan athlete and activist against violence against women in her country.
Rebecca Cheptegei 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, the town where she trained, 25 kilometres from the Ugandan border.
A police report presented 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 land his daughter had purchased to build her house.
“It’s a femicide”
The news of the brutal killing sparked shock 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.”reacted on X the Ugandan First Lady Janet Museveni, also Minister of Sports.
“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 Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement.
The organizers of the Paris Games have informed AFP of their “deep indignation” facing a “a heinous crime (which) reminds us of the alarming reality of violence that affects too many women in society”.
“Rebecca Cheptegei is dead. (…) Yes, it is a femicide. We must put an end to femicides”launched on X Njeri Migwi, co-founder of the association « Do not stop » (“Don’t stay silent” in Swahili), 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 points out that “the real number is certainly higher” because she 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 “deeply shocked and outraged by (this) horrible 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.”adds 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 having killed her.
Also see on Le HuffPost:
Murders of two trans women in Paris and Compiègne: “indignation” of LGBT+ associations in the face of “transphobic hatred”
Femicides: a text adopted in Parliament eliminates two “injustices” for women
