Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei dies after being set on fire by her boyfriend

Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died after being petrol-driven and set alight by her ex-boyfriend in western Kenya.

If Blavity It was previously reported that the attack on Sunday had left Cheptegei with burns over 75% of her body, forcing her to be taken to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, a nearby larger town, for specialised treatment.

According to the BBC According to local authorities, Cheptegei was walking home from church with her two daughters when the attack occurred. Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, called his daughter “very supportive,” while fellow Ugandan athlete James Kirwa told the outlet about her generosity, saying she would fund the careers of other local runners. Police say an investigation is underway.

Cheptegi, originally from Uganda, built a house in Trans-Nzoia County, close to Kenya’s sports training centres.

Sadly, attacks on women are all too common in the East African country. A 2022 study found that at least 34% of Kenyan women had experienced physical violence since the age of 15. The number is likely to be much higher following the country’s proposed finance bill and the political upheaval it has caused.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the urgent need to combat gender-based violence, which is increasingly affecting even elite sport,” Kenyan Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said, according to the BBC.

Outside the hospital, Cheptegei’s father asked the Kenyan government to seek justice for his daughter.

“We have lost our breadwinner,” he said, adding that he worries about how her two children, aged 12 and 13, “will continue their education.”

Uganda Olympic Committee head Donald Rukare also spoke about the incident and the death of the 33-year-old Xformerly Twitter.

“This was a cowardly and senseless act that resulted in the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will live on,” he wrote.

Cheptegei finished 44th in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Her death comes two years after two similar incidents: the killings of fellow East African athletes Agnes Tirop in 2021 and Damaris Mutua in 2022, the BBC reported.