Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei has died following a gasoline attack and being set on fire at the hands of a former boyfriend in western Kenya.
As Blavity previously reported, the Sunday attack left burns on over 75% of Cheptegei’s body, requiring her to be transported to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, a nearby bigger city, for specialized treatment.
According to the BBC per local authorities, Cheptegei was returning home from church with her two daughters when the attack occurred. Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, called his daughter “very supportive,” while fellow Uganda athlete James Kirwa told the outlet about her generosity, sharing she would finance other local runners’ careers. Police say an investigation is underway.
Cheptegi, though from Uganda, built a home in Trans-Nzoia County close to Kenya’s athletic training centers.
Unfortunately, attacks against women are all too common in the East African nation. A 2022 study found at least 34% of Kenyan women had experienced physical violence since the age of 15. The number is likely much higher after the nation’s proposed finance bill and its inspired political upheaval.
“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the urgent need to combat gender-based violence, which has increasingly affected even elite sports,” Kipchumba Murkomen, Kenya’s sports minister, said, per the BBC.
While outside of the hospital, Cheptegei’s father asked the Kenyan government to seek justice on behalf of his daughter.
“We have lost our breadwinner,” he said, adding that he’s worried about how her two children, 12 and 13, will “proceed with their education.”
Donald Rukare, head of Uganda’s Olympic committee, has also addressed the incident and the 33-year-old’s passing on X, formerly Twitter.
“This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure,” he wrote.
Cheptegei finished 44th in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her death comes two years after two similar incidents: the murders of fellow East African athletes Agnes Tirop in 2021 and Damaris Mutua in 2022, the BBC mentioned.
