Athlete Rebecca Cheptegei dies after being set ablaze by boyfriend

Rebecca Cheptegei, a Ugandan athlete, died just a few days after her boyfriend Dickson Ndiema is said to have set her on fire.

Cheptegei lived in Kenya and had run for Uganda in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, where she came in 44th place in the women’s marathon.

The terrible event happened at her home in Western Trans Nzoia County, Nairobi, on Sunday, according to the police.

Ndiema is said to have covered Cheptegei in gas and set her on fire during a domestic argument, leaving her with serious burns over 75% of her body.

Ndiema had burns as well and was getting specialised care at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.

The attack may have started because of an argument over who owned the land. Cheptegei’s parents said she bought the land to be closer to the area’s well-known sports training centres.

Her death comes three years after Agnes Tirop, a woman from Kenya, was found stabbed to death in her home in Iten. Her husband was the main suspect in her death.