Ugandan athlete Cheptegei dies after being set on fire by boyfriend

NAIROBI: Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei died in Kenya on Thursday, four days after being set on fire by her boyfriend, medics and Ugandan athletics officials said.

It was the latest horrific incident of gender-based violence in the East African country, where activists have warned of a femicide epidemic. “We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei... following a vicious attack by her boyfriend,” the president of the Uganda Olympic Committee, Donald Rukare, said in a post on X. “This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure.”

According to police, a man identified as Cheptegei´s partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, doused her with petrol and set her alight on Sunday at her home in Endebess in the western county of Trans-Nzoia.