Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei has died in Kenya 4 days after being set on fireplace by her boyfriend, Ugandan athletics officers stated Thursday.
“We’ve learnt of the unhappy passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei… following a vicious assault by her boyfriend,” the president of the Uganda Olympic Committee Donald Rukare stated in a put up on X.
“This was a cowardly and mindless act that has led to the lack of an excellent athlete. Her legacy will proceed to endure,” he added.
In response to police, a person recognized as Cheptegei’s companion, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, allegedly doused her with petrol and set her alight on Sunday at her house in Endebess within the western county of Trans-Nzoia.
The incident happened simply weeks after Cheptegei, 33, had taken half within the marathon on the Paris Olympics, the place she positioned forty fourth.
Cheptegei suffered burns to 80 per cent of her physique and had been combating for her life at a Kenyan hospital for the reason that performing head of the ability advised reporters on Tuesday.
“All her organs failed final evening,” a medic on the facility, the Moi Instructing and Referral Hospital (MTRH), advised AFP on Thursday.
Kenyan media had reported that certainly one of Cheptegei’s daughters witnessed the assault at her mom’s house.
“He kicked me whereas I attempted to run to the rescue of my mom,” Kenya’s The Customary reported her as saying.
“I instantly cried out for assist, attracting a neighbour who tried to extinguish the flames with water, nevertheless it was not doable,” stated the woman, who has not been named.
Marangach was additionally wounded within the incident, sustaining 30 per cent burns on his physique.
– ‘We name for justice’ –
The Uganda Athletics Federation additionally reported Cheptegei’s demise in an announcement on X.
“We’re deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell sufferer to home violence,” it stated.
“As a federation, we condemn such acts and name for justice. Could her soul relaxation in peace.”
The assault on Cheptegei has once more thrown the highlight on home violence in Kenya.
The assault comes two years after Kenyan-born athlete Damaris Mutua was discovered useless in Iten, a world-famous operating hub within the Rift Valley.
And in 2021, record-breaking Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop, 25, was discovered stabbed to demise at her house in Iten in 2021. Her estranged husband is on trial over her homicide and has denied the fees.
Newest figures from the Kenya Nationwide Bureau of Statistics printed in January 2023 discovered that 34 per cent of girls within the nation had skilled bodily violence for the reason that age of 15.
AFP
