Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei dies after being burned by her partner

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died in a Kenyan hospital where she was being treated after 80 percent of her body was lost in a Attack by her partnera hospital employee confirmed on Thursday. She was 33 years old.

Owen Menach, a spokesman for the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, said the long-distance runner died early Thursday morning after her organs failed. She was fully sedated when she was admitted.

Cheptegei took part in the women’s marathon at Olympic Games in Paris less than a month before the attack. She was ranked 44th.

Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, told reporters at the hospital that he had lost a daughter who had given him “a lot of strength” and expressed hope for justice.

“The perpetrator who caused pain to my daughter is a murderer and I have yet to see what the security officials are doing,” said the father. “He is still at large and may even escape.”

Trans Nzoia County Police Commissioner Jeremiah ole Kosiom said on Monday that Cheptegei's partner Dickson Ndiema bought a jerrycan of petrol during an argument on Sunday, poured it on her and set her on fire. Ndiema also suffered burns and was being treated at the same hospital.

Menach said Ndiema was still in intensive care with burns to 30 percent of his body, but his condition was improving and stable.

Cheptegei's parents said their daughter had bought land in Trans Nzoia to be close to Kenya's many sports centres. A report from the local chief said Cheptegei and Ndiema heard fighting on the property where their house was being built before the attack.

The Uganda Athletics Federation paid tribute to Cheptegei on social media platform X, writing: “We are deeply saddened to announce the death of our athlete Rebecca Cheptegei this morning, who was tragically the victim of domestic violence. As a federation, we condemn such acts and demand justice. May her soul rest in peace.”

Uganda Olympic Committee President Donald Rukare called the attack “a cowardly and senseless act that resulted in the loss of a great athlete.”

Kenya's Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said the government would ensure justice for the victim.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to combat gender-based violence in our society, which has reared its ugly head in elite sport circles in recent years,” he wrote in a statement.

Uganda's First Lady Janet Museveni described Cheptegei's death as “deeply disturbing” due to domestic violence.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said: “Rebecca’s participation in the 2024 Women’s Paris Marathon has been a source of inspiration, pride and joy.”

The United Nations strongly condemned Cheptegei’s death.

UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric recalled the words of Secretary-General António Guterres: “We still live in a male-dominated culture that leaves women vulnerable by denying them equal dignity and rights.”

On average, every 11 minutes a woman or girl somewhere in the world is killed by her partner or family member, according to figures from UN Women, the agency promoting gender equality, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

“We believe, of course, that the actual numbers are much higher,” Dujarric said.

He said denying women's rights leads to less peace in society, less prosperity in the economy and less justice in the world, “but another world is possible.”

2023: The Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechase runner Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead with stab wounds. In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee was found dead. An autopsy report said she had been strangled. In 2021, long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death in her home. Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, was arrested and charged with murder. The case is still ongoing.

Kenya’s high rate of violence against women has prompted demonstrations by ordinary citizens in the cities this year.

According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022, four in ten women, or an estimated 41% of Kenyan women in a relationship or married, have experienced physical or sexual violence from their current or most recent partner.