Ugandan Olympic athlete who died after her partner set her on fire gets military funeral

BUKWO, Uganda (AP) — Thousands of mourners in Uganda paid their respects Saturday to Rebecca Cheptegei, the Olympic athlete who died last week in Kenya after her partner set her on fire. The military funeral took place in a remote town near the Kenyan border.

Military officers played a prominent role at the funeral because Cheptegei held the rank of sergeant in the Ugandan army, military spokesman Brig. Felix Kulayigye said, adding that she deserved a “rifle salute befitting her rank.”

Athletes, family members and others delivered eulogies to thousands at a sports field in Bukwo district, with many condemning domestic violence.

“As a nation, we are indeed in a dark and dark moment,” said Ajilong B. Modestar, the Bukwo district commissioner. “We condemn in the strongest terms the manner in which Rebecca died. … We should not continue to abuse women in this manner.”

Cheptegei, who was 33, was buried on her father’s farm.

She died after her body was burned to 80% by Dickson Ndiema, who doused her with petrol at her home in Trans-Nzoia County in western Kenya on September 3. Ndiema suffered 30% burns 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 violence against female athletes.

Cheptegei is the fourth female athlete to be murdered by her partner in Kenya in a worrying pattern of gender-based violence in recent years. High levels of violence against women in Kenya have 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 competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, finishing 44th, less than a month before the attack. She represented Uganda in other events.

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Muhumuza reported from Kampala, Uganda.