Tragic End to Rebecca Cheptegei’s Attacker
By The Public Lens
The man who attacked Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei has died from injuries sustained during the attack.
He died at 7:50 pm local time on Monday at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya.
Daniel Lang’at, a spokesperson at the hospital, confirmed that the attacker, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, died from the burns he sustained during the attack.
Marangach had poured petrol over Cheptegei and set her on fire, causing 80 percent burns that led to her death.
The attack occurred on September 1 at Cheptegei’s home in western Kenya, where Marangach had been hiding in a chicken coop.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph Cheptegei, said the dispute between Marangach and his daughter was over property.
Marangach had bought five liters of petrol before the attack and threatened Cheptegei’s sister with a machete when she tried to help.
The police said the couple had “constantly had family wrangles”.
The United Nations condemned Cheptegei’s “violent murder”, with UN chief Antonio Guterres’ spokesman calling it a “prevalent human rights violation”.
Cheptegei’s death has put the spotlight on domestic violence in Kenya, particularly within its running community.
She is due to be buried on September 14 near her family home in eastern Uganda.
The Paralympic Games in Paris paid tribute to Cheptegei with a picture on a giant screen, met with applause from the spectators.
The city of Paris will honor Cheptegei by naming a sports venue after her.
Tributes have poured in for the runner, who was Uganda’s women’s marathon record holder and a sergeant in the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the sport has lost a talented athlete in “tragic and unthinkable circumstances”.
Coe is discussing ways to enhance safeguarding policies to protect female athletes from abuse.
Rights groups say female athletes in Kenya are at high risk of exploitation and violence.
Viola Cheptoo, co-founder of Tirop’s Angels, said justice would have been for Marangach to sit in jail and think about his actions.
At least two other athletes have died at the hands of their partners since 2021.
Figures show that 41 percent of married women in Kenya have experienced physical violence.
The UN reports that at least 500 women and girls have been murdered in Kenya since 2016.
Globally, there were 89,000 reports of women and girls murdered in 2022, the highest number recorded in 20 years.
Kenya’s sports minister Kipchumba Murkomen said Cheptegei’s death is a “stark reminder” that more must be done to combat gender-based violence.
