Ugandan athlete dies after horrific fire attack by partner in Kenya
What you need to know:
- Her Kenyan partner and alleged assailant, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, was also injured by the flames, according to police.
- The attack took place on Sunday afternoon at Cheptegei’s home in Kenya’s western Trans Nzoia County.
Rebecca Cheptegei, the Ugandan long-distance athlete who was hospitalised in Kenya after being set on fire by her partner, is dead.
Prior this week, many may not have even heard of marathoner Rebecca Cheptegei, who was part of the 25-member team Uganda at the recently concluded Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Cheptegei had recently returned to Kenya following the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she represented Uganda in the women's 42km marathon and finished 48th.
She also took part in the 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand held in 2022, winning gold in the Up and downhill race.
The deadly attack which eventually claimed Cheptegei's life took place on Sunday afternoon at her home in Kenya’s western Trans Nzoia County.
Her Kenyan partner and alleged assailant, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, was also injured by the flames, according to police, who said he broke into Cheptegei’s home while she was at church.
It’s common for many Ugandan and other long-distance athletes globally to take the trek from the biggest capitals of the world to Kenya to train and learn from the many success stories of the East African country.
The attack by her Kenyan partner Ndiema is being treated as an attempted murder case. The two had been admitted at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret in Uasin Gishu County.
