NAIROBI, Kenya -- A Ugandan athlete living in Kenya was attacked and set on fire by her boyfriend and is receiving treatment for burns on 75% of her body, police said.
Rebecca Cheptegei, a distance runner who finished at the 44th position in the 2024 Paris Olympics, was attacked in her house in western Trans-Nzoia County.
Trans-Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said Monday that Cheptegei's boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, bought a jerrican of petrol, poured it on her and set her ablaze during a disagreement Sunday. Ndiema also sustained burn wounds, and the two are receiving specialized treatment at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in the Kenyan city of Eldoret.
Cheptegei's parents said their daughter bought land in Trans-Nzoia County to be near its many athletic training centers.
A report filed by the local chief stated that the couple was heard fighting over the land where the house was built before the fire started.
In 2023, Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechaser Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead outside of Eldoret with stab wounds. In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee was found dead in nearby Iten, Kenya, with a postmortem report stating that she was strangled.