Ex-boyfriend who burned Ugandan athlete dies from burns himself

The ex-boyfriend of Ugandan Olympian athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died from burns sustained while he tried to set her on fire.

Rebecca, a 33-year-old marathon runner, represented Uganda at the Paris Olympics 2024 and finished 44th in the marathon. She suffered burns to more than 75 percent of her body in an attack on September 1, dying four days later.

The two of them were taken to a nearby Kenyan hospital. Her former boyfriend Dickson Ndiema Marangach attacked her when she returned home from church with her children.

Local police report say that there was a dispute between Rebecca and her ex-boyfriend over land.

Rebecca, he third elite sportswoman to be killed in Kenya since October 2021, has shifted the country’s focus on the issue of domestic violence in the country, particularly within its running community. Rights group say that female runners are at a high risk of exploitation and violence because men are drawn to their money which is far more than local income.

Talking to Reuters, Rebecca’s father said, “This guy is dead because he killed my daughter. He has died because of his actions.”