The ex-boyfriend who is alleged to have set Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei on fire has been identified in photographs
Cheptegei tragically passed away aged 33 in hospital four days after sustaining serious burns to 80 per cent of her body.
The Ugandan athlete was attacked shortly after returning to Kenya following the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Her ex-partner is alleged to have poured a can of petrol over her before setting her alight. Cheptegei was taken to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, but was unable to be saved and d!ed of organ failure.
Trans-Nzoia County police commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said her former boyfriend Dickson Ndiema was responsible for the horrific crime. “The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” Kosiom told the Standard newspaper in Kenya. “The suspect was also caught by the fire and sustained serious burns.”
Police seized a five-litre jerry can, a bag and a scorched phone at the scene after the incident.
Cheptegei’s father Joseph told Kenyan newspaper The Star that his daughter’s attacker was an “animal” who had tormented her for months before attacking her. One of Cheptegei’s daughters was present at the time of the incident.
Cheptegei had finished 44th in the marathon at the Paris Olympics on August 11, having come in 14th in the same event at the World Championships the previous year.
Her death has sparked an outpouring of tributes and emotion from the athletics community.
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It is always good to control one’s temper
Evil human