Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei to be buried

BUKWO, Uganda (AP) — Dozens of mourners in Uganda paid their respects to Rebecca Cheptegei, the Olympic athlete who died last week in Kenya after her partner set her on fire.

On Saturday, local leaders and others gathered at the local government hall ahead of her burial at her family home in a village near the Kenyan border.

Cheptegei died after her body was 80% burned by the attack by Dickson Ndiema, who doused her with gasoline at her home in Trans-Nzoia County in western Kenya on September 3. Ndiema suffered 30% burns to his body and later died from his injuries.

According to a report from the local leader, they got into a fight over a piece of land the athlete had bought in Kenya.

The horrific petrol attack shocked many and reinforced calls for protection of female runners who face exploitation and abuse in the East African country.

Cheptegei’s body was brought back to Uganda in a somber procession on Friday after dozens of activists marched in the western Kenyan city of Eldoret, demanding an end to physical violence against female athletes.

Cheptegei, who was 33, is the fourth female athlete to be murdered by her partner in Kenya in a worrying pattern of gender-based violence in recent years. The high level of violence against women in Kenya has led to several marches this year.

Ugandan officials have condemned the attack and are calling for justice for Cheptegei. First lady Janet Museveni, who is also Uganda’s Minister of Education and Sports, described the attack as “deeply disturbing.”

Don Rukare, chairman of the Uganda National Sports Council, said in a statement on X that the attack was “a cowardly and senseless act that has resulted in the loss of a great athlete.”

According to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, four in 10 women, or an estimated 41% of Kenyan women who are in a relationship or married, have experienced physical or sexual violence by their current or most recent partner.

Many Ugandan athletes train across the border in Kenya, an athletics powerhouse with better facilities. Some of the region’s best runners train together at a high-altitude centre in western Kenya.

Cheptegei took part in the women’s marathon in the Olympic Games in Parisand finished in 44th place, less than a month before the attack. She had represented Uganda in other competitions.