Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei dies after petrol attack
Ugandan distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei has sadly died following a petrol attack.
The 33-year-old suffered burns to more than 75% of her body, after being doused in petrol and set alight by the assailant, believed to be her former boyfriend, police said.
Cheptegei – who competed at the recent Paris Olympics and won gold at the 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand – was attacked at her home in Endebess, western Kenya, where she trains.
The attack took place on Sunday, when Cheptegui was returning home from church with her two children. She’s believed to have been saved by her neighbours.
The alleged attacker also sustained serious burns during the incident, according to local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom.
‘The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,’ Mr Kosiom was quoted as saying.
The couple are believed to have been arguing over a piece of land, bought by Cheptegei, in the Tranz Nzoia county, near Kenya’s top athletic centres. Police say an investigation is underway.
The incident is the latest in a worrying increase in violence against female athletes in Kenya.
In April 2022, another female runner, Damaris Mutua, was found strangled in the Rift Valley town of Iten. The previous year, in October 2021, Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in the same town.
In both cases, their partners have been identified by the authorities as the main suspects. Ms Tirop's husband is currently facing murder charges, which he denies, and the search for Mutua's boyfriend is ongoing.
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