Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has passed away at a Kenyan hospital. She was receiving treatment after sustaining severe burns covering 80% of her body, the result of a vicious assault by her partner.
A spokesperson at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret city, Owen Menach, confirmed Cheptegei’s death on Thursday. Menach said the long-distance runner died early in the morning after all her organs failed. She had been fully sedated on admission to the hospital.
The athlete, who finished 44th competing for Uganda in the women’s race at the Paris 2024 Games, was in critical condition following the attack at her home in Kenya.
According to Trans Nzoia County’s police commander, Jeremiah Ole Kosiom, her boyfriend, identified as Dickson Ndiema. had allegedly bought a can of petrol, entered her house secretly, doused her with the petrol, and set her on fire following a dispute over the land on which her home was built. He told the Standard newspaper Kenya;
“The couple was heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her. The suspect was also caught by the fire and sustained serious burns on 30% of his body.”
Neighbours reportedly rescued Cheptegei before she and her attacker were taken to Moi Referral Hospital in Eldoret, where she died.
Female athletes murdered by their partners in Kenya
Cheptegei now joins a list of female athletes who have been attacked and killed by their partners. In 2021, Agnes Jebet Tirop, a Kenyan long-distance runner who competed in the Tokyo Olympics and broke world records, was found stabbed to death in her home. Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, was charged with her murder but pleaded not guilty.
The following year, Damaris Muthee Mutua, a Kenyan-born athlete who competed for Bahrain, was found strangled with a pillow. Her decomposing body was discovered in a rental house in Lilies Estate, Iten Town, lying on the bed with a pillow on her face. Her alleged lover, now a fugitive, Eskinder Hailemariam Folie, is believed to be the prime suspect in her murder.
In both cases, the authorities identified their partners as the main suspects. Tirop’s husband is currently facing murder charges, which he denies, while the search for Mutua’s boyfriend continues.
