A Ugandan sportswoman residing in Kenya, suffered severe burns when her boyfriend ignited her in a violent row, as reported by the police. Rebecca Cheptegei, a long distance runner who ranked 44th in the marathon at the Paris Olympics in 2024, was assaulted at her residence in Trans Nzoia County in the western part of the country.
Jeremiah ole Kosiom, Trans Nzoia’s police commander, revealed that the boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, obtained a jerrycan of petrol during a spat and set her ablaze. Ndiema himself suffered burns and both are currently receiving specialised treatment in Eldoret city at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
It was reported that Cheptegei purchased a plot of land in Trans Nzoia to be within close proximity to the region’s multiple sports training facilities, according to her parents. Local authorities filed a report stating that a skirmish about the landownership resulted in the violent fire incident.
In the previous year, Benjamin Kiplagat, a Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechase competitor, was discovered dead with knife injuries. Additionally, in 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini sportswoman, Damaris Muthee, was found lifeless, with the postmortem report suggesting she was strangled to death.