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Summary
On Sunday, September 1, 2024, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, intimate partner of Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, snuck into her home and murdered her by setting her ablaze. The 33-year-old athlete was at the apex of her career when her intimate partner murdered her. In Kenya, men kill at least 47 women weekly.
On Sunday, September 1, 2024, Dickson Ndiema, intimate partner of Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, snuck into her home and murdered her by setting her ablaze. The incident reported by the police is said to have happened on Sunday at about 3 p.m. in the Endebes Trans Nzoia county, Kenya.
Rebecca Cheptegei was a 33-year-old long-distance runner at the apex of her career. She participated in the just concluded Olympic games held in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. She competed in the 10,000m Olympic race, where she placed 44th. She also won the Classic Up and Down mountain race at the 2022 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. She was the 3rd runner-up in the half marathon at the 2024 African Games and 13th runner-up at the 2023 World Championships marathon.
According to media reports, Rebecca moved from Uganda to Kenya to be safe from violence and to be able to train properly for her career as an athlete. However, the County’s police, Commander Jeremiah Ole Kosiom, reported that during an argument, her partner Dickson took a can of petrol, poured it on her and set her on fire. Dickson was also affected by the same fire he used to burn her.
“The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” Commander Koisom said.
Speaking to journalists, Cheptegei’s father said Rebecca and her partner fought regularly he “wanted to take away her property.”
However, after Dickson’s actions, neighbours who witnessed the event attempted to give her urgent media care. She was taken to Kitale Level Four Hospital and then to an ICU at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. Unfortunately, Rebecca suffered over 75% burns on her body due to Dickson’s action and died of organ failure. Her murderer, Dickson, survived with only 30% degree burnt.
Kimani Mbugua, a consultant doctor at the hospital, said that she “had a severe percentage of burns, which unfortunately led to multi-organ failure, which ultimately led to her passing this morning at 05:30 [02:30 GMT]”
After her demise, her family, professional associates, and her community mourned her loss.
Rebecca’s father, Joseph Cheptegei, noted that she was the family’s breadwinner, and she sponsored her younger siblings’ education. He wondered how they would survive.
“We have lost our breadwinner. She likes her family so much, especially the girls. And she sometimes supports us,” Mr Cheptegei told BBC.
The Uganda Athletics Federation also states, “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei, early this morning, who tragically fell victim to domestic violence. As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest In Peace.”
Rebecca Cheptegei’s case serves as a reference to a larger trend of femicide. Globally over 47,000 men kill their female partners. In Kenya, men kill at least 47 women weekly. One Kenyan man confessed to murdering 42 women. In the first half of 2024, the DOHS Foundation Live Dashboard revealed that Nigerian men killed 46 women they are related to. In South Africa, men kill women every 6 hours.
With men continually murdering women they have relationships with, diverse reactions have trailed the occurrence, with feminists emphasising that femicide requires urgent attention.
“We must begin to treat misogynists like terrorists. Men have declared a full-blown war against women, and women are paying for it with their lives. This is terrorism,” said Chinenye Nweke on X.
