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

By Nimi Princewill, CNN

(CNN) — 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, formerly known as Twitter, Thursday.

“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell victim to domestic violence,” the Uganda Athletics Federation posted. “As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest In Peace.”

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.

Cheptegei finished 44th in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics weeks ago. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said her participation at the Games “was a source of inspiration, pride and joy”, adding he was “shocked and deeply saddened” to learn about her death and “the horrible attack against her.”

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.

A medical official at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital where Cheptegei was being treated told CNN affiliate Citizen TV on Thursday that she suffered multi-organ failure late Wednesday.

Cheptegei’s mother, Agnes – who spoke to reporters outside the hospital on Thursday – described her as “a good child.”

Her father, Joseph, blamed the Kenyan government and police for failing to prevent her death.

“I blame her death on negligence by the government because the authorities should have taken it seriously when we first reported that this man [Ndiema] had become problematic and he was fighting her. We reported to the police, to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations but they didn’t take any action to save her life,” he told journalists.

CNN has contacted the Kenyan police and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations for comment.

Uganda’s minister of state for sports, Peter Ogwang, described Cheptegei’s death as “tragic” in a post on X Thursday, adding that “Kenyan authorities are investigating the circumstances under which she died and a more detailed report and program will be provided in due course.”

Kenya’s sports minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement that Cheptegei’s death was “not only a loss to Uganda and the athletics community, but to the entire region.”

Cheptegei is the third elite female athlete to be killed in Kenya in the last three years.

In 2021, 25-year-old Kenyan Olympic runner Agnes Tirop was found dead in her Iten home in the country’s Elgeyo-Marakwet County with stab wounds in her neck. Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, was charged with murder after Kenyan prosecutors accused him of killing her.

Months later, another Kenyan athlete Damaris Mutua, 28, was found strangled in a home with a pillow over her face. Mutua had just placed third at a half marathon in Angola earlier that month. Authorities said her boyfriend was the main suspect.

Sports minister Murkomen said the latest tragedy involving Cheptegei “is a stark reminder that we must do more to combat gender-based violence in our society, which in recent years has reared its ugly head in elite sporting circles.”

Amnesty International Kenya also said that Cheptegei’s death “highlights the urgent need to address femicide” in the country.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Niamh Kennedy, Larry Madowo and Caitlin Danaher contributed to this report.