The Ugandan Marathon Runner Rebecca Cheptegei, fresh from the Paris Olympics where she had ranked 44th, died from burns caused by her boyfriend who had poured a petrol can on her before setting her on fire during an argument last Sunday. Cross-country skier Cheptegei was hospitalized in Eldoret, Kenya, with burns to 75% of her body.
Donald Rukare, president of the Ugandan Olympic Committee, announced it on X. “May his gentle soul rest in peace,” he wrote. “We strongly condemn violence against women. This was a cowardly and senseless act that resulted in the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will live on.”
Police said the athlete was attacked after her Kenyan partner Dickson Ndiema Marangach broke into her home in Endebess, Trans-Nzoia West County, around 2pm on Sunday, taking advantage of the fact that she and her children were at church. When they returned, the man “poured petrol on Rebecca before setting her on fire,” police said.
Rescued by neighbors, the marathon runner and her partner were hospitalized with “multiple burns” at the nearest hospital in Kitale town before being transferred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret. A 5-litre jerry can, a bag and a black cap believed to belong to Dickson and a burnt mobile phone believed to belong to Rebecca were found at the scene, the police report said, adding that “the couple had constant family quarrels”.
According to Kenyan media, quoting the victim’s parents, the athlete had bought land and built a house in Endebess, about 25 kilometers from the Ugandan border. According to the BBC, which quotes a report from a local administrator, the two had a dispute over the plot in question.
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