Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei dies after being set on fire by boyfriend

Rebecca Cheptegei, competes at the Discovery 10km road race in Kapchorwa, Uganda on January 20, 2023. AP

Kampala, September 5 — Rebecca Cheptegei, a Ugandan marathon runner who competed in the Paris Olympics last month, has died days after she was burned by her boyfriend, the country’s athletics federation confirmed on X Thursday.

Cheptegei, 33, who lived in Kenya, had been in a critical condition after suffering burns on 75% of her body following Sunday’s attack at her house in the western Trans Nzoia County. Her death was also confirmed on X by the Kenyan Olympic Team.

Trans Nzoia County police commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said earlier this week that the athlete had been doused in petrol by her boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, who stormed her house with a jerry can of gasoline and set fire to her after a disagreement over land. Ndiema, who was also burned, is being treated at a hospital in the city of Eldoret.