Athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei dies after ex-boyfriend set her on f!re| Read Details
Ugandan athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei has died days after ex-boyfriend poured petrol and set her on fi-re.
The 33-year-old marathon runner suffered various degrees of burns after Sunday, September 1, 2024 attack.
The authorities in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained, said she was targeted after returning home from church with her two daughters aged 12 and 13.
Cheptegei and her ex-partner had reportedly been quarrelling over a piece of land said to have been bought by the deceased in Trans Nzoia county and built a house to be near Kenya’s elite athletics training centres.
Speaking to journalists outside the hospital where she had been treated, the deceased’s father, regretted that the family’s breadwinner has died. He called on the Kenyan government to ensure justice was done after the death of his daughter.
“We have lost our breadwinner,” he added and wondered how her two children, aged 12 and 13, would “proceed with their education” he queried.
Dr Kimani Mbugua, a consultant at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, told local media that the staff did all they could for her but the athlete “had a severe percentage of burns, which unfortunately led to multi-organ failure, which ultimately led to her passing this morning at 05:30 [02:30 GMT]”.
Uganda’s athletics federation said in a post on X: “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell victim to domestic violence. As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest In Peace.”
“This is heartbreaking. Even more heartbreaking that it’s not the first time the athletics community has lost such an incredible female athlete to domestic violence,” British Olympian Eilish McColgan wrote on X.
Cheptegei’s former boyfriend was also admitted to the hospital in Eldoret – but with less severe burns. He is still in intensive care but his condition was “improving and stable”, Moi hospital’s Dr Owen Menach said.
Earlier, local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom was quoted by local media as saying: “The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her.”
Cheptegei won the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand in 2022
Cheptegei finished 44th in the marathon at the recent Paris Olympics.
She also won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.
