Dozens of mourners in Uganda have paid respects to Rebecca Cheptegei (33), the Olympic athlete who was killed last week in Kenya by her partner, who set her on fire.
Local leaders and others gathered at the local administration hall on Saturday as they awaited her burial at her ancestral home in a village near the Kenya border.
Ms Cheptegei died after her body suffered 80 per cent burns in an attack by Dickson Ndiema, who doused her in petrol at her home in western Kenya’s Trans-Nzoia County on September 3rd.
Ndiema sustained 30 per cent burns on his body and later died from his injuries.
According to a report filed by the local chief, they quarrelled over a piece of land the athlete bought in Kenya.
The horrific attack shocked many and strengthened calls for the protection of womenrunners facing exploitation and abuse in the east African country.
Ms Cheptegei’s body was returned to Uganda on Friday in a sombre 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.
Ms Cheptegei, who had been a member of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, was buried with military honours.
The 33-year-old is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in a worrying pattern of gender-based violence in recent years.
Ugandan officials have condemned the attack, demanding justice for Ms Cheptegei.
First lady Janet Museveni, who also serves as Uganda’s education and sports minister, described the attack as “deeply disturbing”.
Don Rukare, chairman 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”.
About four in 10 women, or an estimated 41 per cent of 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 centre in Kenya’s west.
Ms 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. – AP