Ugandan Olympic athlete dies after being severely burned in gasoline

Sad News Coming In…

Uganda long distance runner who represented the country at Paris Olympic Games, 2024, Rebecca Cheptegei is set ablaze by her Kenyan boyfriend Dickson Indiema.

Rebecca suffered about 70% fire burns leading to her death. According to cable news sources emerging from Kenyan where she passed.

There was a misunderstanding between the athlete and her so-called boyfriend about a parcel of land the athlete purchased and he poured petrol ⛽️ on her and set her on fire. May her humbled soul rest well

Rebecca Cheptegei is seen competing at the Discovery 10km road race in Kapchorwa, Uganda, on Jan. 20, 2023.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died at a Kenyan hospital where she was being treated after 80% of her body was burned in an attack by her partner. She was 33.

A spokesperson at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret city, Owen Menach, confirmed Cheptegei’s death on Thursday.

Menach said the long-distance runner died early in the morning after her organs failed. She had been fully sedated on admission at the hospital.

Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.

Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, told journalists at the hospital that he had lost a daughter who was “very supportive” and hopes to get justice.

Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said Monday that Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema, bought a can of gasoline.

Poured it on her and set her ablaze during a disagreement Sunday. Ndiema was also burned and was being treated at the same hospital.

Menach said Ndiema was still in the intensive care unit with burns over 30% of his body but was “improving and stable.

Cheptegei’s parents said their daughter bought land in Trans Nzoia to be near the county’s many athletic training centers.

A report filed by the local chief said the two were heard fighting over the land where her house was built before the attack.

The Uganda Athletics Federation eulogized Cheptegei on the social platform writing.

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.

Uganda Olympic Committee President Donald Rukare called the attack “a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete.

In 2023, Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechaser Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead with stab wounds.

In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee was found dead and a postmortem report stated that she was strangled.

In 2021, long distance runner Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death at her home. Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, was arrested and charged with murder, the case is ongoing.

In August, Ugandan distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei was in Paris competing at the Olympic 2024 Olympics where she placed 44th in the marathon event.

Weeks later, after returning from church with her two children, police say the 33-year-old was set on fire by her former boyfriend.

The AP  report that the Olympian suffered burns to over 75 percent of her body, and she remains in critical condition in a hospital in Kenya.

Per ESPN, Cheptegei lives in the small town of Endebess in western Kenya, where she had  bough lanf to be closer to the country’s nearby training centers.

According to Trans-Nzoia County police commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom, Cheptegei’s boyfriend Dickson Ndiema was “heard quarrelling outside their house” on Sunday before he was seen “pouring a liquid” on the athlete and “burning her.”

A report filed by a local administrator claims the liquid was petrol Ndiema had purchased and that the couple had been arguing over the piece of land Cheptegei’s home was built on.

The BBC added that the mother of two was rescued by neighbors who overheard the altercation.

In recent years, several other athletes have been victims of violent attaks by current or former partners in Kenya, per the BBC.

In 2021, long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in the Rift Valley town of Iten; her husband is facing murder charges, though he has denied the crime in question.

In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini runner Damaris Muthee Mutua was found strangled in her home in the same town; Mutua’s boyfriend is suspected of killing her but is still on the run.

The following year, Ugandan Olympic runner Benjamin Kiplagat was reportedly stabbed to death outside of Eldoret — the same region where Cheptegei is currently being treated.

According to the AP, Cheptegei and Ndiema are currently reseving treatment for burn wounds at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret while police continue investigating the crime scene.