KENYA – A Ugandan athlete, who resides in Kenya, was brutally assaulted and set on fire by her boyfriend, according to local law enforcement. Rebecca Cheptegei, a long-distance runner who secured the 44th spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics, was victimized in her residence in Trans Nzoia County, located in western Kenya.
The County’s Police Commander, Jeremiah ole Kosiom, disclosed on Monday that the assailant, identified as Dickson Ndiema, procured a jerrican of petrol, doused Cheptegei with it, and ignited the fire amidst a dispute on Sunday. Ndiema, too, suffered burn injuries during the incident.
Both Cheptegei and Ndiema are currently under specialized medical care at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret city. Cheptegei, who competed in the Discovery 10 km road race in Kapchorwa, Uganda, in January 2023, has sustained burns on 75% of her body.
Cheptegei’s parents revealed that their daughter had purchased land in Trans Nzoia to be in proximity to the county’s numerous athletic training centers. A local chief’s report indicates that the couple was heard quarreling over the land where their house was constructed prior to the fire outbreak.
This incident is not the first instance of violence involving athletes in the region. In 2023, Benjamin Kiplagat, a Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechaser, was discovered dead with multiple stab wounds. In the previous year, Damaris Muthee, a Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete, was found deceased, with a postmortem report suggesting strangulation as the cause of death.