The ex-boyfriend accused of murdering Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei by setting her on fire has reportedly died from wounds sustained in the horrific attack.
Dickson Ndiema died on Monday evening at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, hospital officials said. Country Africa.
The Olympian's estranged girlfriend was rushed to hospital after the alleged attack and admitted to intensive care with burns over 30 percent of her body.
Cheptegei suffered burns over 80 percent of his body and was admitted to the same facility as Ndiema.
The Olympian died on Thursday from organ failure.
“By the time she arrived at the hospital the damage was already done,” Dr Kimani Mbugua told Kenyan news agencies. standard last week.
“We supported her organs as best we could but unfortunately it was beyond our power.”
She was 33 years old.
Her sadistic ex-husband is believed to have broken into the home she built in Kenya, near the Uganda border, while Ms Cheptegei was attending church with her daughters, aged nine and 11.
Trans-Nzoia County police commander Jeremiah Ole Kosiom said Ndiema ambushed Cheptegei as he returned home, dousing him with petrol and setting him on fire during a dispute over land he had bought near the country's athletics training centre.
One of Cheptegei's daughters said she discovered her mother on fire and was kicked by Ndiema when she tried to put out the fire.
“When I ran to help my mum he kicked me,” the unidentified daughter told the Standard.
“I immediately screamed for help and my neighbours tried to put out the fire with water but they couldn't.”
“It is with deep sadness that we announce that early this morning, our athlete Rebecca Cheptegei tragically passed away after being the victim of domestic violence,” the Uganda Athletics Federation wrote in a statement, paying tribute to the Olympian.
“As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest in peace.”
Cheptegei finished 44th in the women's marathon at the Paris Olympics last month.
The marathoner also won the Padua Marathon in Italy and placed fourth at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Marathon.
She represented Uganda at the 2011 and 2013 World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain, and Bydgoszcz, Poland.
