Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who participated in last month’s Paris Olympics, suffered burns on over 75% of her body after allegedly being doused with petrol by her boyfriend in Kenya, local media reported.
Cheptegei, who finished in 44th position at the just concluded Paris 2024 Olympics, was attacked in her house in the western Trans Nzoia County.
The 33-year-old is still in critical condition at a hospital in Eldoret, Kenya following the Sunday afternoon attack, according to Kenyan and Ugandan newspapers.
Trans Nzoia county police commander Jeremiah Ole Kosiom said that Cheptegei’s boyfriend Daniel Ndiema Marangach, who was also burned in the attack, bought a jerrican of petrol, poured it on her and set her ablaze during a ‘domestic dispute’ in her home on Sunday.
According to a statement filed by the local police chief, the couple was heard fighting over the land where the house was built before the fire erupted.
Cheptegei’s parents said their daughter acquired the land in Trans Nzoia to access numerous local athletic training centres.
The Ugandan Athletics Federation conveyed its sorrow regarding the event, noting Cheptegei sustained “severe injuries.”
“This follows an incident involving her Kenyan boyfriend pouring petrol and setting fire on her,” it said in a statement on social media platform X.
Violence against women, athletes in Kenya
The assault represents the most recent appalling instance of gender-based violence in the East African nation.
A study conducted by the Kenyan Bureau of National Statistics, released in January 2023, revealed that 34 percent of Kenyan women have endured physical abuse since turning 15.
The report indicated that women who had been in marital relationships were considerably more prone to experiencing violence, with 41 percent of married women reporting incidents compared to 20 percent of their unmarried counterparts.
The attack on Cheptegei occurs two years after Kenyan-born runner Damaris Mutua was discovered dead in Iten, a globally renowned running centre situated in the western Rift Valley region of the country.
Her demise followed the killing of record-setting athlete Agnes Tirop, aged 25, who was found fatally stabbed at her Iten residence in 2021.
Tirop‘s estranged spouse, Emmanuel Ibrahim Rotich, faced trial for her murder in 2023. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his court proceedings are still ongoing.
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