Olympic marathon runner murdered by ex-boyfriend to be buried

Funeral services have begun in Uganda for Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who was burned to death by her ex-boyfriend.

Dixon Ndiema attacked her with petrol two weeks ago outside her home in northwestern Kenya, close to where she trained.

The murder of a 33-year-old woman and the brutal nature of it has left her family in shock and shocked many around the world.

It highlighted the high level of violence against women in Kenya and the fact that several female athletes have been victims of violence in recent years.

Cheptegei received the military decoration at an awards ceremony in Uganda, where he served in the Ugandan Army.

Her coffin was displayed and draped under the Ugandan flag, and Saturday’s event began with a memorial service led by local leaders from Cheptegei’s hometown of Bukwo.

They paid tribute to the late athlete with a moment of silence and a standing ovation.

The councillors said Cheptegei lived a “simple and focused life” and was always there to provide guidance to her fellow athletes. “She inspired many children in this area to get involved in athletics,” one councillor said.

They also proposed naming a road and a local sports stadium in her honor.

She is scheduled to be buried at her father’s nearby farm late Saturday.

Cheptegei died in hospital four days after the attack. Doctors said she suffered burns to more than 80 percent of her body and suffered “multiple organ failure.”

Ndiema, who suffered burns when fuel splashed on his body, also died on Monday.

He attacked the mother of two after she returned from a service at the Church of the Holy Spirit.

Caroline Atieno, a pastor there, remembers him as “a wonderful… God-fearing man.”

She was able to talk to Cheptegei on the phone while she was in the hospital and hear what had happened.

The pastor asked the athlete about his children first, and he said they were all doing well. BBC’s Africa Daily Podcast.

Cheptegei then said of her attacker: “Are you saying that Dixon couldn’t see all the things I did for him? He couldn’t stop burning me without remembering one or two things I did for him? Why did he do this to me?”

The funeral was held in Bugwo, her family’s hometown in Uganda, close to the Kenyan border.

On Friday, her casket was carried out after being visited by family, friends and activists against gender-based violence at a funeral in the Kenyan town of Eldoret.

Her mother, Agnes Cheptegei, covered her face in pain and wore a souvenir bag the athlete received at the recent Paris Olympics, where she finished 44th in the marathon.

She was wearing a T-shirt printed with the slogan “Women should not be sentenced to death for being women.”

The mother of two was the third female athlete to be killed in Kenya in the past three years. In both cases, police have identified a current or former lover as the main suspect.

In 2021, world record holder Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death, and six months later, Damaris Mutua was strangled.

Attacks on women have become a major concern in Kenya, with a national survey showing that at least 34% of women reported experiencing physical violence in 2022.

Some experts say female athletes are becoming increasingly vulnerable.

“[This is] “Because it goes against the traditional gender norm that women are just in the kitchen, cooking and taking care of the kids. But now, female athletes are becoming more independent, they’re becoming more financially independent,” said Joan Chelimo, who co-founded Tirop’s Angels to highlight violence against women.

“We don’t want this to happen to any other woman, whether she’s an athlete, a villager or a young girl,” Rachel Kamweru, a spokesperson for the government’s Department for Gender and Affirmative Action, told the BBC.

When Cheptegei first started running, she enlisted in the Uganda People’s Defence Force in 2008 and received support.

Her last race was the Paris Olympics, where she finished 44th, but her hometown people still called her “the champion”.

She won a gold medal at the 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.