Outrage and sorrow at death of Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei

NAIROBI – Outrage and sorrow greeted the death on Sept 5 of Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who succumbed to severe burns after being doused with petrol and

set on fire by her boyfriend.

It was the latest horrific act of gender-based violence in the east African country, where activists have warned of a rising femicide epidemic.

The 33-year-old long-distance runner died because of “multiple organ failure”, the doctor treating her at a hospital in Eldoret in western Kenya told reporters.

“Her injuries were extensive and covered most parts of her body,” added Kimani Mbugua, head of the intensive care unit at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.

“We tried our best but we did not succeed. Looking at her age and the over 80 per cent burns she suffered, the hope of recovery was slim.”

Police say the attack was carried out on Sept 1 by Cheptegei’s Kenyan partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach. It took place just weeks after Cheptegei made her Olympic debut in the women’s marathon at the Paris Games, where she finished 44th.

Marangach snuck into her home in Endebess near the border with Uganda while she was at church with her two young daughters, police said. He also received severe burns in the incident, with a doctor saying he was in a stable condition but still in intensive care.

Kenyan media said Cheptegei’s children, aged nine and 11, had witnessed the attack, which triggered widespread condemnation.

“The news of our daughter Rebecca Cheptegei’s tragic death due to domestic violence is deeply disturbing,” Ms Janet Museveni, Uganda’s First Lady and Education Minister, posted on X.

Kenyan Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said it was a “stark reminder” that more must be done to combat gender-based violence.

Kenya’s national Olympic committee also said: “Rebecca’s talent and perseverance as Uganda’s women’s marathon record holder and a Paris 2024 Olympian will always be remembered and celebrated.”

Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, said the dispute with Marangach had been over the property where she lived with her sister and daughters.

He told Kenyan media earlier this week that Marangach had bought five litres of petrol then hid in a chicken coop before the attack.

“He poured the petrol and lit her on fire. When she called her sister to help, he threatened her with a machete and she ran away,” he added.

Violence against women is widespread as well in Kenya, which saw 725 femicide cases in 2022 alone, according to the latest UN figures.

A 2023 report by Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics found 34 per cent of women had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.

In October 2021, record-breaking Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop, 25, was found stabbed to death at her home in the renowned Rift Valley running hub of Iten.

Her estranged husband, who denies murdering her, is on trial.

In April 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Mutua was also found dead in Iten, in a suspected domestic violence incident.

Joan Chelimo, athlete and co-founder of Tirop’s Angels, a group set up to combat gender-based violence after Tirop’s death, said on Instagram she was “deeply shaken and outraged” by the attack on Cheptegei.

“This senseless violence must end,” she said. AFP