Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who was tragically set on fire by her former boyfriend and later succumbed to her injuries, has been laid to rest at her father’s homestead in eastern Uganda.
As a member of Uganda’s armed forces, her coffin was carried by soldiers, and she was honored with a three-volley salute.
Cheptegei was attacked by Dickson Ndiema with petrol just under two weeks ago outside her home in north-west Kenya, near her training grounds. The brutal killing of the 33-year-old left her family devastated and shocked many around the world.
Cheptegei’s final race took place at the Paris Olympics, her tragic death highlighting the alarming levels of violence against women in Kenya, where several female athletes have fallen victim in recent years.
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Among those at the sombre and emotional funeral ceremony in a school field in Bukwo, Cheptegei’s home district, were fellow athletes wearing black T-shirts with the slogan “say no to gender-based violence”.
“We are guilty as [a] government, but also the community is guilty,” Kenya’s Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kipchumba Murkomen told mourners.
“Let us say the truth. It is not true that we did not know even in the local community that Rebecca was facing family problems.”
Cheptegei and Ndiema had reportedly been wrangling over a piece of land.
One of her teammates at the recent Paris Olympics, Stella Chesang, also spoke.
“It is really a sad moment in Uganda… and all of us friends. As a team who we went to Paris with Rebecca, we really felt it because… we were together, enjoying together and it is really sad,” she said.
The Olympic marathon – in which she came 44th – was Cheptegei’s last race.
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