Dozens of mourners in Uganda paid respects to Rebecca Cheptegei, the Olympic athlete who died last week in Kenya after her partner set her on fire.
Local leaders and others gathered at the local administration hall Saturday as they awaited her burial at her ancestral home in a village near the Kenya border.
Cheptegei died after her body suffered 80% burns in the attack by Dickson Ndiema, who doused her in gasoline at her home in western Kenya’s Trans-Nzoia County on September 3. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later died.
According to a report filed by the local chief, they quarreled over a piece of land the athlete bought in Kenya.
The horrific gasoline attack shocked many and strengthened calls for the protection of female runners facing exploitation and abuse in the East African country.
Attendees and relatives pay tribute at the funeral for Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, 33, in the common room of the village of Bukwo, Uganda, on Sept. 14, 2024.
Cheptegei’s body was returned to Uganda Friday in a somber procession following a street march by dozens of activists in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret who demanded an end to physical violence against female athletes.
Cheptegei, who was 33, is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in a pattern of gender-based violence in recent years. Kenya’s high rate of violence against women has prompted several marches this year.
Ugandan officials have condemned the attack, demanding justice for Cheptegei. Janet Museveni, who serves as Uganda’s education and sports minister, described the attack as “deeply disturbing.”
Don Rukare, chair of the National Council of Sports of Uganda, said in a statement on X that the attack was “a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete.”
Four in 10 dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey.
Many Ugandan athletes train across the border in Kenya, an athletics powerhouse with better facilities. Some of the region’s best runners train together at a high-altitude center in Kenya’s west.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, finishing in 44th place, less than a month before the attack. She had represented Uganda at other competitions.