Athletics

Alleged killer of Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptege dies in hospital

Former partner of Rebecca Cheptegei dies of burns sustained in the attack, hospital says

Rebecca Cheptegei suffered burns to more than 75 per cent of her body in an attack on September 1st and died four days later. Photograph: AP
Rebecca Cheptegei suffered burns to more than 75 per cent of her body in an attack on September 1st and died four days later. Photograph: AP
Tue Sept 10 2024 - 09:35

The former partner of Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who is accused of killing her by dousing her in petrol and setting her on fire, has died from burns sustained during the attack, the Kenyan hospital where he was being treated said on Tuesday.

Cheptegei, 33, who competed in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, suffered burns to more than 75 per cent of her body in the September 1st attack and died four days later.

Her former boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, died on Monday, according to Daniel Lang’at, a spokesperson at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kenya where Cheptegei was also treated and died.

“He died from his injuries, the burns he sustained,” Lang’at said.

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Cheptegei, who finished 44th in Paris, is the third elite sportswoman to be killed in Kenya since October 2021. Her death has put the spotlight on domestic violence in the East African country, particularly within its running community.

Rights groups say female athletes in Kenya are at a high risk of exploitation and violence at the hands of men drawn to their prize money, which far exceeds local incomes.

Nearly 34 per cent of Kenyan girls and women aged 15-49 years have suffered physical violence, according to government data from 2022, with married women at particular risk. The 2022 survey found that 41 per cent of married women had faced violence.

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