Today, Rebecca Cheptegei, an Olympic runner who passed away after being doused in petrol and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend Dickson Ndiema Marangach just three weeks after her final race at Paris 2024, was laid to rest with full military honours. Cheptegei’s death occurred just three weeks after her final race.
Thousands of people turned out to pay their respects to Rebecca Cheptegei, who had just finished her final race at Paris 2024 when her ex-boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, murdered her.
As she was walking back from church with her two daughters and younger sister, she was attacked, according to her family. She had returned to her house in the highlands of western Kenya, which is a region that is considered to be a favourite destination for international runners due to the high-altitude training facilities that are located there.
It took her four days to pass away from the injuries she sustained, which included burns to eighty percent of her body.
She reportedly informed her father, “I don’t think I am going to make it,” when she was receiving treatment in the hospital, according to him.
“If I die, just bury me at home in Uganda.”
For the very last time, her body was transported back to her home.
As a result of the fact that Ms. Cheptegei had the rank of sergeant in Uganda’s army, military commanders played a significant role in the funeral. According to Brigadier Felix Kulayigye, the military spokesman, she earned a “gun salute that befits her rank.”
The athletes and members of the athlete’s family sent their condolences and eulogies.
The high rates of violence against women in Kenya, particularly among the athletics community, have been brought to light as a result of her passing, which has made people angry. In Kenya, since 2021, the athlete is the third elite runner to be said to have died at the hands of a romantic partner while competing in the sport.
Athletes in Kenya who are female are in high danger of being exploited and violently attacked by men who are interested in the prize money they win.
Among the sporting accomplishments of Ms. Cheptegei are her victory in the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand in 2021, as well as her first-place finish at the Padova Marathon in Italy, where she also established a new national record for the marathon.
She was born in the eastern part of Uganda in 1991, and she first met Marangach while she was in Kenya for a training trip. She eventually relocated to Kenya in order to pursue her dream of being a professional runner.
It was reported to the police that the two individuals had a disagreement on a parcel of land that Ms. Cheptegei had purchased in Kenya.
Several days after Ms. Cheptegei passed away, Marangach passed away from burns that were allegedly sustained during the attack. The local running community is divided on how to feel about this matter.
“Justice would have really been for him to sit in jail and think about what he had done,” said Viola Cheptoo, a marathon runner and co-founder of Tirop’s Angels, a support group for athletes in Kenya who are grappling with the issue of domestic abuse.
Despite the fact that the circumstances surrounding Ms. Cheptegei’s passing stunned the entire globe, her name may still serve as a source of motivation for future athletes, since the French capital is seeking to name a sports complex after her.
She blew our minds while we were in Paris. We were able to see her. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of the city, conveyed to the reporters that she was “her beauty, her strength, and her freedom.” “Paris will not forget her.”