Uganda holds funeral for murdered Olympian Cheptegei

Friends and family react as they view the body of late marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei in Eldoret, western Kenya, on September 13, 2024. Rebecca Cheptegei lost her life, four days after her boyfriend poured petrol over her and set her ablaze at her home in western Kenya. [AFP]

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.

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, some 380 kilometres (240 miles) northeast of Uganda's capital Kampala.

"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 AFP, 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 Peoples' Defence Forces, started around 10:00 am (0700 GMT), with officials and relatives gathering at the local council office.

The athlete was a "heroine" Bessie Modest Ajilong, the local presidential representative, told AFP.

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 (1200 GMT).

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, told AFP.

'Relationship soured'

Local media say Cheptegei's daughters witnessed the attack. Police said Marangach snuck into her home while she was at church with her children.

Her family say 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, told AFP.

"I didn't know then something was wrong," said Kipsiro, who previously trained with Cheptegei and also hails from Bukwo.

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.

A report the following year by Kenya's National Bureau of Statistics found 34 percent of women had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.

At least two other athletes, Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua, have lost their lives in domestic violence incidents since 2021.