The man who set fire to and murdered Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died in hospital in Kenya from the severity of burns he suffered during the attack on his partner, news agencies reported. Cheptegei, who took part in the marathon at the Paris Olympics last year, died on Thursday after he allegedly attacked her, doused her with petrol and set her alight.
The attack on the athlete occurred on Sunday, September 1, in TransNzoia County, western Kenya, from where the 33-year-old athlete was taken to hospital due to the severity of her injuries. The executive director of the medical center, Owen Menach, indicated that Cheptegei was quickly transferred to intensive care. “The amount of burns is 80%, which is very severe,” added Menach.
The alleged attacker, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, who according to sources at Eldoret hospital quoted by the Kenyan newspaper ‘TheNation’ died on Monday, suffered serious burns on 30% of his body during the attack on Rebeca Cheptegei and was admitted to the same hospital where the athlete was taken. Police believe that on Sunday 1st September Marangach sneaked into Cheptegei’s house with a five-litre jerrycan of petrol. The athlete had gone to church with her daughters and when she returned the man threw the fuel at her and set her on fire.
The runner’s parents, Joseph Cheptegei and Agnes Ndiema, said their daughter, who lives in Uganda, had bought land in the Kenyan county and built a house where she stayed during training. Rebecca is survived by two daughters, aged 12 and 13, who were at church during the attack and learned of it at their grandmother’s house, The Standard newspaper reported. Joseph Cheptegei, standing outside the hospital where his daughter was treated, said Rebecca was the family’s breadwinner.
Cheptegei died after the Kenyan government announced plans on Wednesday to transfer her to Nairobi for specialist medical treatment. Cheptegei, who had been racing since 2010, finished 44th in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics.
Nearly 34% of girls and women aged 15 to 49 in Kenya have experienced physical violence, according to government data from 2022. Married women are at particular risk: 41% had been attacked.
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