The physique of murdered Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei started its journey residence to Uganda on Friday, as activists rallied towards the most recent reported case of gender-based violence in Kenya.
The 33-year-old athlete succumbed to her wounds final week after being attacked on September 1 by her Kenyan companion, who poured petrol over her and set her on fireplace.
It occurred simply weeks after she made her Olympic debut within the ladies’s marathon in Paris, the place she completed forty fourth.
Her funeral is deliberate for Saturday in Bukwo, residence to her household in Uganda, however relations in Kenya paid their respects on Friday within the Rift Valley city of Eldoret, close to the place she lived.
Cheptegei is the third athlete to have died in Kenya on account of gender-based violence since 2021, scary a world outpouring of tributes and rage.
Tony Sabila, Cheptegei’s uncle, described her as “a pillar to the household” and expressed his unhappiness over the loss.
Because the physique handed by means of the city of Eldoret, scores of activists lined the street with others strolling alongside the hearse.
At a rally the identical day, many wore white T-shirts with a picture of Cheptegei and carried white or pink roses.
Others had indicators studying “Say no to femicide,” “Being a girl shouldn’t be a dying sentence” and “A home the place a girl is just not secure is just not a house”.
Femicide refers back to the intentional killing of ladies or ladies due to their gender. It’s a extreme type of gender-based violence that stems from deeply rooted sexism, misogyny, and societal inequalities.
Cheptegei was attacked outdoors her home in Endebass, Kenya. Native media reported that her younger daughters and teenage sister witnessed the brutal assault.
Her attacker, 32-year-old Dickson Ndiema Marangach, was additionally severely burnt and died in hospital on Monday.
A 2023 report by Kenya’s Nationwide Bureau of Statistics discovered 34 per cent of ladies had skilled bodily violence because the age of 15.
AFP
