The guy who attacked Ugandan runner Rebecca Cheptegei died of injuries incurred when he poured fuel on the Olympic competitor, the Kenyan hospital treating him announced Tuesday.
According to police, Dickson Ndiema Marangach assaulted Cheptegei at her house in western Kenya on September 1. The mother of two died last week after sustaining 80 percent burns.
Marangach suffered 30% burns during the incident and was treated in the intensive care unit at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in the Rift Valley city of Eldoret.
“It’s true, we lost Dickson Ndiema last night around 8:00 p.m.,” a person from the hospital’s communications department told AFP, seeking anonymity since they were not authorized to speak to the media.
His family had been notified, the official said, adding that a “comprehensive statement” will be issued later.
The attack on the 33-year-old Cheptegei has been met with sadness and outrage as yet another horrible incident of gender-based violence in the East African country.
Since 2021, at least two other athletes have died at the hands of their partners.
Cheptegei will be buried on September 14 near her family home in eastern Uganda, according to the country’s Olympic Committee.
The attack, which local media claimed was observed by Cheptegei’s daughters, occurred just weeks after she made her Olympic debut in the women’s marathon at the Paris Games, finishing 44th.
According to police, Marangach slipped into her home in Endebess, near the Ugandan border, while she was at church with her children.
Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, informed reporters that the conflict with Marangach was about the property where she resided with her sister and daughters.
He told Kenyan media last week that Marangach bought five litres of petrol and then concealed in a chicken coop prior to the attack.
“He poured the petrol and set her on fire. When she contacted her sister for aid, he threatened her with a machete, and she fled.”
According to the authorities, the pair had “constantly had family wrangles”.
According to the most recent UN numbers, violence against women is endemic in Kenya, with 725 femicide instances reported in 2022 alone.
According to a 2023 report from Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics, 34% of women had suffered physical violence since they were 15 years old.
Cheptegei’s death comes after those of record-breaking Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop in 2021 and Kenyan-born Bahrain athlete Damaris Mutua the following year.
In both cases, their ex-partners were held responsible for their deaths.
Tirop’s estranged partner, who denies murdering her, is facing trial.