Ugandan Olympic Athlete Rebecca Cheptegei Dies Following Tragic Attack, Sparking Calls to Combat Gender-Based Violence

Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died days after being doused in petrol and set on fire by a former boyfriend.

The 33-year-old Ugandan marathon runner, who competed in the recent Paris Olympics, had suffered extensive burns after Sunday’s attack.

The authorities in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained, said she was targeted after returning home from church with her two daughters.

Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, said that he had lost a “very supportive” daughter. Fellow Ugandan athlete James Kirwa told the BBC about her generosity and how she had helped out other runners financially.

A report filed by a local administrator alleged the athlete and her ex-partner had been wrangling over a piece of land. Police say an investigation is under way.

Cheptegei, from a region just across the border in Uganda, is said to have bought a plot in Trans Nzoia county and built a house to be near Kenya’s elite athletics training centres.

Attacks on women have become a major concern in Kenya. In 2022 at least 34% of women said they had experienced physical violence, according to a national survey.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder of the urgent need to combat gender-based violence, which has increasingly affected even elite sports,” Kenya’s Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said.

Speaking to journalists outside the hospital where she had been treated, Mr Cheptegei asked the Kenyan government to ensure justice was done after the death of his daughter.

“We have lost our breadwinner,” he added and wondered how her two children, aged 12 and 13, would “proceed with their education.”

Dr Kimani Mbugua, a consultant at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, told local media that the staff did all they could for her but the athlete “had a severe percentage of burns, which unfortunately led to multi-organ failure, which ultimately led to her passing this morning at 05:30 [02:30 GMT]”.

Kirwa, who had visited Cheptegei in hospital, told the BBC she “was a very affable person. [She] helped us all even financially and she brought me training shoes when she came back from the Olympics. She was like an older sister to me”.

Uganda’s athletics federation said in a post on X: “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell victim to domestic violence. As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest In Peace.”