Ugandan Olympic athlete dies after being set on fire by her boyfriend – National

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Ugandan Olympic athlete ***** after being set on ***** by her boyfriend – National

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Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has ***** at a Kenyan hospital where she was being treated after 80 per cent of her body was burned in an ******* by her partner. She was 33.

A spokesperson at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret city, Owen Menach, confirmed Cheptegei’s ****** on Thursday. Menach said the long-distance runner ***** early in the morning after her organs *******. She had been fully sedated on admission at the hospital.

Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the *******. She finished in 44th place.

Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, told journalists at the hospital that he had lost a daughter who was “very supportive” and hopes to get justice.

Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said Monday that Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema, bought a can of gasoline, poured it on her and set her ablaze during a disagreement Sunday. Ndiema was also burned and was being treated at the same hospital.

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Rebecca Cheptegei, competes at the Discovery 10km road race in Kapchorwa, Uganda on Jan. 20, 2023.

AP Photo, File

Menach said Ndiema was still in the intensive care unit with burns over 30 per cent of his body but was “improving and stable.”

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Cheptegei’s parents said their daughter bought land in Trans Nzoia to be near the county’s many athletic training centers. A report filed by the local chief said the two were heard fighting over the land where her house was built before the *******.

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

Uganda Olympic Committee President Donald Rukare called the ******* “a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete.”

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In 2023, Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechaser Benjamin Kiplagat was found ***** with stab wounds. In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee was found ***** and a postmortem report stated that she was strangled. In 2021, long distance runner Agnes Tirop was stabbed to ****** at her home. Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, was arrested and charged with *******, the case is ongoing.

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