Boyfriend Who Killed Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei Dies from Burns After Fatal Attack

The former boyfriend of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who killed her by setting her on fire, has himself died from burns sustained in the attack, a Kenyan hospital official has said.

Dickson Ndiema ambushed the marathon runner as she returned home from church more than a week ago and then doused her with petrol and set her ablaze. 

Local administrators said the two had been in conflict over a small piece of land in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained. 

Ndiema died on Monday night at the intensive care unit where he had been admitted with more than 30% burns on his body.

It’s true he has died from the  burn injuries,” Dr Owen Menach from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in the town of Eldoret told the news.

Ms Cheptegei died last Thursday from 80% burns she sustained during the attack days earlier.

Neighbours said that they heard screams before Cheptegei came running towards them shouting for help. 

Local media reported that Ndiema snuck into Cheptegei’s home in western Kenya’s Trans Nzoia county with a five-litre jerry can full of petrol before the fatal attack.

He reportedly was then splashed in the fuel as he attacked Cheptegei and subsequently got caught in the fire as he set her alight.

Ndiema was to face charges as police said they were treating Cheptegei’s death as murder, with the former boyfriend named as the main suspect.

Both of them were admitted to Moi Hospital before their deaths.

Cheptegei’s death shocked people across the world, with fellow Ugandans saying shewas an inspiration to them.

The 33 year old Olympian was the third athlete to be killed in Kenya in the last three years, where intimate partners were named as the main suspects by police.

In 2021, world-record holder Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death and six months later Damaris Mutua was strangled. 

Cheptegei was born on the Kenyan side of the Kenya Uganda border, but chose to cross over and represent Uganda to chase her athletics dream when she did not get a breakthrough in Kenya.

When she started getting into running, she joined the Uganda People’s Defence Forces in 2008 and rose to sergeant rank.

Her career included competing in this year’s Paris Olympics. Although she came 44th in the marathon, people in her home area called her “champion”.

She also won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.

Cheptegei is set to be buried on Saturday at her ancestral home in Bukwo, Uganda.

Attacks on women have become a major concern in Kenya. In 2022 at least 34% of women said they had experienced physical violence, according to a national survey.

Erizia Rubyjeana 

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