Murdered Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei was buried with full military honours

Kampala: Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after she was allegedly doused with petrol and set on fire by her former partner, was to be buried with full military honours on Saturday.

After finishing 44th in the marathon at the Paris Olympics on August 11, Cheptegei returned to her home in the highlands of western Kenya, an area popular with international runners for its altitude training opportunities.

It was supposed to be her last race.

Three weeks later, her former boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, allegedly attacked Cheptegei as she returned from church in Kinyoro village with her two daughters and younger sister, Kenyan police and her family said.

Her father Joseph Cheptegei told Reuters that his daughter had gone to the police at least three times to file a complaint against Marangach, most recently on August 30, two days before the alleged assault by her former partner.

She suffered burns to 80 percent of her body and succumbed to her injuries four days later.

“I don’t think I’ll make it,” she told her father during treatment in the hospital.

“If I die, just bury me at home in Uganda.”

Cheptegei's tragic death sparked anger over the high levels of violence against women in Kenya, particularly in the athletics community. The marathon runner is the third elite runner to die allegedly at the hands of her partner since 2021.

According to government data from 2022, one in three Kenyan girls or women between the ages of 15 and 49 is a victim of physical violence.

Human rights groups say female athletes in Kenya face a high risk of exploitation and violence from men who are attracted by their prize money, which far exceeds local incomes.

Cheptegei's sporting achievements include winning the 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand and, a year later, taking first place in the Padua Marathon in Italy, where he set a national marathon record.

Born in eastern Uganda in 1991, she met Marangach on a training visit to Kenya and later moved to the country to pursue her dream of becoming an elite runner.

Marangach died a few days after Cheptegei from burns allegedly sustained in the attack, sparking mixed opinions in the local running community.

“Justice would really have meant him sitting in prison and reflecting on his actions,” says marathon runner Viola Cheptoo, co-founder of Tirop's Angels, a support group for athletes in Kenya who are victims of domestic violence.

The circumstances of Cheptegei's death shocked the world, but her name could inspire future athletes: the French capital plans to name a sports facility after her.

“She dazzled us here in Paris. We saw her. Her beauty, her strength, her freedom,” the city's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, told reporters. “Paris will not forget her.”