The attack on Cheptegei, a 33-year-old mother of two, has sent shockwaves across the country and beyond.
Tragedy has struck Kenya again, as Dickson Ndiema Marangach, the man accused of pouring petrol on and setting ablaze Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, has succumbed to his injuries. The 33-year-old mother of two died last week after suffering 80% burns in the brutal attack.
Marangach, who was being treated at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, passed away at 8:00 pm on Tuesday. The hospital confirmed the development, stating that a comprehensive statement would be released later.
The attack on Cheptegei, a 33-year-old mother of two, has sent shockwaves across the country and beyond. The incident has been widely condemned as a horrific example of gender-based violence in Kenya. The attack is the latest in a string of similar incidents involving athletes, with at least two other athletes having lost their lives at the hands of their partners since 2021.
Cheptegei, who made her Olympic debut in the women’s marathon at the Paris Games, was attacked by Marangach while she was away at church with her children. Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, revealed that the dispute over a property where she lived with her sister and daughters had been simmering for some time.
The police have said that Marangach had been constantly having family wrangles with Cheptegei, and that he had bought five liters of petrol before hiding out in a chicken coop before the attack. He poured the petrol on Cheptegei and lit her on fire before fleeing the scene.
The incident is a stark reminder of the widespread violence against women in Kenya, which has been highlighted by statistics showing that 725 femicide cases were reported in 2022 alone. A 2023 report by Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics found that 34% of women had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
Cheptegei’s death is the latest in a string of tragedies involving Kenyan athletes, following the deaths of record-breaking runner Agnes Tirop and Kenyan-born Bahrain athlete Damaris Mutua. In both cases, their ex-partners were implicated in their deaths.
Cheptegei is due to be buried on September 14 near her family home in eastern Uganda, according to Uganda’s Olympic Committee. The incident has sparked widespread outrage and condolences have poured in from around the world.
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