Johannesburg —The man accused of setting up his ex-girlfriend, the Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegeion fire in a attack that proved fatal died in a Kenyan hospital from his own burns sustained during the incident. Dickson Ndiema died at Moi Teaching Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, where Cheptegei also died days after sustaining burns in the dispute with her ex-boyfriend, which reportedly involved land.
Neighbors reported hearing voices before seeing Ndiema pour gasoline on Cheptegei as she returned from church with her two daughters on Aug. 31. He was also seriously injured in the attack and died in the hospital’s intensive care unit from complications from the burns, a hospital official said Tuesday.
“He developed respiratory failure as a result of the severe airway burns and sepsis which ultimately led to his death,” Philip Kirwa, the hospital’s CEO, said in a statement.
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Cheptegei suffered burns over 80% of her body and died on September 5 from multi-organ failure. Police confirmed they were still investigating the incident.
Cheptegei finished 44th in the marathon at the recent Olympic Games in Paris and was a household name in the running world.
Local media in Kenya and Uganda report that little is known about Ndiema, but that the two had not been together for some time before the attack took place.
Cheptegi, a member of the Uganda People’s Defence Force, will be buried with military honours on September 14 in Bukwo, Uganda, in the presence of dignitaries from both Kenya and Uganda.
Her death follows the high-profile murders of several Kenyan athletes, allegedly by their partners, including Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in her home in 2021. Tirop’s estranged husband is still on trial for her murder.
A 2023 report from the Kenya Bureau of National Statistics found that 34% of women have experienced physical violence after the age of 15. Women who are married or have been married are almost twice as likely to report such violence.
Joseph Cheptegei, the late Olympian’s father, told reporters outside the hospital that his family had lost “their breadwinner” and a “very supportive” daughter. He was concerned about how the family would pay for his two daughters’ education.
The Ugandan Olympic Committee had earlier called on social media for “swift and decisive action to bring the perpetrator to justice for this cowardly and deplorable act.”
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