A Uganda marathon runner, Rebecca Cheptegei, has just sustained significant burns on her skin after being attacked by her boyfriend at her home in Kenya.
It is alleged by the Trans Nzoia County Police Commander, Jeremiah ole Kosiom, that the 33-year-old Olympic athlete had been doused in gasoline and set on fire on Sunday by Dickson Ndiema during an argument.
“The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” Mr Kosiom told reporters on Monday per BBC.
The attacker also got burnt in the process and, together with Rebecca, was rescued by neighbors and is currently receiving treatment at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret. However, Rebecca Cheptegei appears to have received the most damage from the fire as reportedly more than 70% of her body is affected.
CBS News wrote that an MTRH staff member who wished to remain anonymous had revealed that the athlete’s “condition looks serious with facial burns and bandages.”
AP managed to obtain a report filed by the local police and it seems to indicate that the two had been fighting over the land on which Rebecca’s home was built. Mr Kosion also told The Standard that the victim and her two children were on their way back from church when she was attacked by Mr. Dickson.
“[Ndiema] is believed to have sneaked into the compound at around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday while the wife and the children were in Church. Upon returning, Dickson, who had procured petrol, began pouring it on Rebecca before he set her ablaze.”
Nothing has been said about the children’s condition at the moment.
Rebecca Cheptegei’s case is not the first strange one involving female athletes and their partners. Two other runners, Damaris Mutua and Agnes Tirop were strangled and stabbed to death respectively in 2022. Just a few months apart and in the same Rift Valley town of Iten. Authorities have singled out their partners as the main suspects involved in their deaths.
