NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei has died at the age of 33 while being treated at a Kenyan hospital for burns over 80 percent of her body after an attack by her partner.
The country's sports minister said authorities must do more to combat gender-based violence.
Owen Menak, a spokesman for Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, confirmed Cheptegei's death on Thursday. Menak said the long-distance runner died in the early hours of the morning from organ failure. He had been fully sedated when he was admitted to hospital.
Less than a month before the attack, Cheptegei competed in the women's marathon at the Paris Olympics, where she finished 44th.
Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, told reporters at the hospital that he had lost a daughter who was “very supportive” of him and hoped justice would be served.
“As things stand, the person who hurt my daughter is a murderer and we don't yet know what the security authorities are doing,” the father said. “The perpetrator is still free and may escape.”
Trans-Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah Ole Kosiom said on Monday that Ms Cheptegei's partner, Dickson Ndiema, bought a can of petrol during an argument on Sunday and poured it on her, setting her on fire. Mr Ndiema also suffered burns and is receiving treatment at the same hospital.
Menack said Ndiema suffered burns over more than 30 percent of his body and remained in intensive care but was “recovering and in a stable condition”.
Cheptegei's parents said they had bought the land in Trans-Nzoia so their daughter could be near one of the county's many athletic training centres, and a report filed by a local chief said the two were heard fighting over the land on which her house stood before the attack.
The Uganda Athletics Federation paid tribute to Cheptegei on social platform X, writing: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Uganda Athletics Federation athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who tragically became the victim of domestic violence early this morning. As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest in peace.”
Uganda Olympic Committee president Donald Lukare called the attack a “cowardly and senseless act that led to the death of a great athlete.”
Kenya's Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said the government would ensure justice for the victims.
“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 in recent years,” he said in a statement.
In 2023, Ugandan Olympian and steeplechase runner Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead with stab wounds. In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Mutheh was found dead, with an autopsy report stating 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, with the case pending.
