By Any Canapilli
KINYORO, Kenya (Reuters) – On Sunday morning, September 1, Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei was getting ready for church at her home in the western Kenyan highlands when her ex-boyfriend called a friend and asked if he could borrow her lighter.
Denis Masai Chepkongin, a friend and retired runner, told Reuters at his home in the Mount Elgon area where Cheptegei lives that he was leaving the village “because of an emergency.”
“When I asked him why, he became very secretive,” Chepkongin added, denying the request.
Hours later, Cheptegei’s ex-boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema Marangachi, doused her with petrol and set her on fire, according to her family and police.
Both died in hospital from their burns. Marangach could not be reached for comment before his death, and Reuters could not independently verify what happened that day.
A police officer who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media confirmed that Marangachi was being investigated for murder at the time of his death.
The ground around Cheptegei’s home in the quiet village of Kinyoro was a witness to a terrible death. When journalists visited last weekend, the ground was carbonized and soaked with gasoline. Her 17-year-old sister Dorcas, who had been hit by a sickle, was quietly crying, curled up, or staring blankly into space.
Cheptegei’s murder, shortly after competing for Uganda at the Paris Olympics, shocked the world. But it was no surprise to Cheptegei or her family, her parents told Reuters.
Their stories shed light on the dark side of female athlete success in Kenya’s patriarchal society. Elite runners can earn more from a single marathon than many Kenyans earn in a year. They say their success often leaves them targets for predatory men who seek to manipulate them and steal their assets.
Cheptegei is said to be the third female runner to have been killed by her lover in Kenya since 2021. Her funeral was held on Saturday in the Bugwo district of neighbouring Uganda with full military honors. The athlete was a member of the Uganda Defence Force.
Cheptegei tried to protect himself.
The 33-year-old single mother of two, born in Uganda, ended her relationship with Marangachi and now manages her own finances, supporting her extended family, which includes her parents, 12 siblings and two daughters, aged nine and 11, her family said.
Her father, Joseph, said she had gone to police at least three times this year to report threats and physical abuse from Marangachi.
He shared with Reuters police receipts confirming complaints she filed in Kinyoro and the nearby town of Kitale in February and May.
Joseph told police in February that Marangachi told her, “This man is going to kill my child,” after he beat her and smashed her cellphone.
He said the police told Marangachi to stay away from Cheptegei’s house, but he wouldn’t listen. “So we went back to the police and they wouldn’t do anything else. My daughter died because the police failed.”
Neither local nor national police responded to requests for comment. Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura did not respond to questions from Reuters.
Cheptegei’s murder has left other female athletes feeling hopeless at the continued indifference of the authorities and Athletics Kenya, the national body that governs the sport.
“No one is taking responsibility,” said Joan Chelimo, co-founder of Tirop’s Angels, a non-profit that was set up to support victims of domestic violence after Kenyan long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death in 2021.
Tirop’s husband, Ibrahim Rotić, is charged with her murder. He has pleaded not guilty and was released on bail last year. His case is ongoing and his lawyer declined to comment.
Kenyan-Bahraini runner Damaris Mutua was also murdered in 2022. Her Ethiopian boyfriend is suspected. Kenyan police say he fled Kenya.
Kenya’s Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen condemned the attack on Cheptegei and promised action.
President William Ruto’s adviser says authorities are working to prevent gender-based violence in sports, but activists say the efforts are not enough.
“A straightforward person”
Violence against women is a major problem in Kenya. According to 2022 government data, one in three adolescent girls and women have been victims.
Femicide Count Kenya, an NGO that uses media reports to document gender-motivated deliberate killings, has recorded 157 female killings so far in 2024, the highest number in a single year since it began collecting data in 2019.
“More and more women are facing violence, but they are not getting any help from the police,” said Audrey Muggney, co-founder of the group.
Elizabeth Keitani, who sits on the Kenya Athletics Association board, said her team had helped six young women escape abusive relationships since 2022, providing them with safe accommodation and counselling services.
“Every case that comes to us is dealt with very quickly,” she told Reuters.
Esther Kemtai, a 24-year-old Cheptegei teammate, said she had an abusive relationship with a man who wanted her to hand over all her earnings to him when she was 18. When she refused, he beat her.
Kemtai left him in January 2023 with the help of Tirops Angels, who said they provided her with support and counseling.
Kemtai called Cheptegei a “straightforward man” who did not hesitate to break away from controlling people.
“If she says no, it means no,” Kemtai said.
Cheptegei is also devoted to his family, having purchased land for his father in 2016 worth $1,200, equivalent to about 11 months of Kenya’s minimum wage at the time.
Her family said she met Marangachi, a struggling motorbike taxi driver and aspiring athlete, while living in Uganda in 2020 or 2021. Marangachi encouraged her to move to Kenya and train in Iten, a hub for top distance runners and a high-altitude training destination for tourists.
According to retired runner Chefkongin, she built a house in Kinyoro, about two hours’ drive from Iten, and moved there in 2021. The former world U20 champion said he met her around that time.
The house is a two-bedroom house on a small piece of land in a quiet area with little infrastructure. The roads are unpaved and potholed, and access to electricity is limited. On a clear night, the Milky Way is visible. However, the proximity to Iten was good for training.
Police officials said Marangach owned the deed to the land. Cheptegei’s father denies this claim. He showed Reuters a photo of the land deed, signed and stamped in March 2021, showing Rebecca as the buyer of Kinyoro’s land and Marangach as a witness.
Her family and Chepkongin say Cheptegei supported Marangach financially. The retired runner said he had been friends with Marangach since 2018 and helped pay for his rent, training kit and other expenses.
“Dixon had no money before Rebecca came into his life,” he said.
Two of Marangach’s sisters told Reuters his family was in fact poor. But his older sister Naomi Chebet Kiprop said the couple pooled their money to buy the land where Cheptegei lived with her daughters.
“God helped Dixon find a place we could call ‘home,'” she told Reuters.
“Now that Dixon is dead, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Everyone relied on her”
Cheptegei ended her relationship with Marangah in January, her father said. In May, she reported him to the police after he sent people to threaten her into handing over her land and house.
Samwel Kibet, another friend of Chepkongin and Marangachi, said they did not follow their advice to leave Cheptegei alone.
Cheptegei went to the police again on Friday, August 30. According to her father and Chepkongin, who were with her, the police told her to return the following Monday.
A local police official said the land dispute arose when police said their relationship had soured, adding that police believed “peace had been reached” between the two.
On Sunday morning, while Cheptegei and her family were at church, Marangachi climbed over the barbed wire fence on their property and hid in a chicken coop before returning, her father said, citing the testimony of her sister Dorcas.
According to Joseph Cheftegay, Marangachi attacked Rebecca and when Dorcas tried to intervene, he lunged at her with a machete.
Dockers did not speak to Reuters about the attack, but stressed her sister’s determination to survive.
“My sister always said that it was very important for women to have their own money, to be empowered and not depend on anyone,” she said.
Cheptegei suffered burns on 80 percent of her body. When she was admitted to the hospital, her father said he could only recognize her voice. She died four days later.
Cheptegei’s family, who mourned on their farm an hour’s drive from Rebecca’s home, were as angry as they were lost.
“Everyone in this complex was depending on her. Now I don’t know what to do,” her mother Agnes said through tears.
