Ugandans on Saturday paid tributes to Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after her partner set her on fire in Kenya, ahead of her funeral in her family village.
The 33-year-old, who debuted this summer in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, succumbed to severe burns last week after being attacked by Kenyan Dickson Ndiema Marangach.
Mourners in Bukwo included Sports Minister Peter Ogwang and Kenya’s cabinet secretary for youth affairs, Murkomen Kipchumba, who said that they are extremely ashamed and sad that Rebecca met her death in Kenya.
The brutal assault shocked the East African region and prompted a global outpouring of tributes, with activists condemning another act of gender-based violence in Kenya.
On Saturday morning, residents, officials, and relatives waited in the cold morning light to pay their respects in the village of Bukwo
“We are extremely saddened,” said her estranged husband Simon Ayeko, with whom she had two daughters.
“As a father, it has been very difficult,” he told mourners explaining he had not been able to break the news to their children.
“Slowly we will tell them the truth.”
The service to honour Cheptegei, a sergeant in the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, started around 10:00 am with officials and relatives gathering at the local council office.
The athlete was a “heroine,” Bessie Modest Ajilong, the local presidential representative, said.
Cheptegei’s body would move from local council headquarters, organisers said, to a nearby sports stadium so that the public could pay their respects. She will then be formally laid to rest at around 3:00 pm
Scores of athletes have travelled to the small village to attend the ceremonies.
“She greatly contributed to the promotion of athletics until her last days,” coach Alex Malinga, who trained her as a teenager, said.
‘Relationship soured’ –
It was revealed that Cheptegei’s daughters witnessed the attack. Police said Marangach snuck into her home while she was at church with her children.
Her family says the couple had argued over ownership of the property where she lived with her sister Dorcas Cherop and daughters.
Her attacker later died from injuries sustained in the assault.
“I think at that time, their relationship had become sour,” Cheptegei’s brother-in-law, Moses Kipsiro, said.
“I didn’t know then something was wrong,” said Kipsiro, who previously trained with Cheptegei
The vicious assault has thrown yet another spotlight on what activists have called a femicide epidemic.
Kenya reported 725 femicide cases in 2022 alone, according to the latest UN figures.
At least two other athletes, Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua, have lost their lives in domestic violence incidents since 2021.
