The world of athletics is in mourning. Less than a month after her participation in the marathon at the Paris Olympic Games, which she finished in forty-fourth place, Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei died on Thursday, September 5. Four days earlier, her ex-partner had set her on fire. Burned to more than 80%, she succumbed to her injuries.
The 33-year-old runner had been in critical condition since Sunday in Eldoret hospital in western Kenya. “All his organs have stopped [de fonctionner] last night »a doctor at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital confirmed to Agence France-Presse on condition of anonymity. The facility was preparing to evacuate the runner to a facility in the capital, Nairobi, on Thursday.
“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. We strongly condemn violence against women.”said Uganda Olympic Committee President Donald Rukare, https://twitter.com/drukare/status/1831561453901316263.
Returning from Paris two weeks ago, the marathon runner was on the 1is September, as every Sunday, at the church in the village of Endebess, a Kenyan town near the Ugandan border, accompanied by her two daughters. According to a police report, her ex-partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, took advantage of the situation to break into her house. When he returned from mass, the man allegedly doused his ex-partner with gasoline and set her on fire, leaving her for dead.
Athletics world hit by violence
The police report presents them as “a couple who constantly had family disputes”. According to some teammates of the Ugandan Olympic team, quoted in the regional press, Dickson Ndiema Marangach harassed and threatened the athlete over a financial dispute and a land dispute. The Kenyan police were investigating the matter. In connection with this case, the long-distance runner was expected by a commissioner on Monday, September 2, to present her property titles.
The murder of Rebecca Cheptegei, who was training in neighbouring Kenya’s Trans-Nzoia County, has reignited debate over domestic violence in the East African nation. According to a 2023 study by Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics, more than 11 million women report having been sexually assaulted, 2.8 million of them in the past 12 months.
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In recent years, this wave of violence has particularly affected the Kenyan athletics community. In 2021, after she had just returned from the Tokyo Olympics, double world medalist Agnes Tirop was killed by her partner in Iten, a famous training center, also due to a financial dispute. A savage murder that allowed the country to open its eyes to the scale of femicide, particularly in western Kenya, where the practice of forced marriage is still widespread.
“I am extremely saddened by this new murder which affects one of our own”said Joan Chelimo, who also ran the marathon at the Paris Olympics. She co-founded Tirop’s Angels, an organization fighting against femicide, created in memory of Agnes Tirop. “Rebecca Cheptegei was a hard worker, she deserved everything she got in her career. For a man to steal that from her is cruel.”a dit Mme Chelimo.
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“His untimely and tragic death is a profound loss.”regretted the Kenyan Athletics Federation, demanding “the end of gender-based violence”For East African marathon runners, the struggle for emancipation continues. “We continue to change the mindset of Kenyans, starting with our female athletes, who are being taught the benefits of becoming financially independent.”added Joan Chelimo.
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