Ugandan Olympian fighting for her life after fire attack

Ugandan long-distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei was still fighting for her life Wednesday after being set on fire by a Kenyan man, just weeks after taking part in the Paris Olympics.

The 33-year-old athlete is being treated in the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in the Kenyan Rift Valley city of Eldoret after Sunday’s attack.

Cheptegei sustained burns to 80 percent of her body, the hospital’s acting CEO Owen Menach told reporters Tuesday, saying everything was being done to save her life.

Police said a man identified as Dickson Ndiema Marangach had doused Cheptegei with petrol and set her alight at her home in Endebess in the western county of Trans-Nzoia.

There was no official medical update from the hospital on Wednesday.

However, a medical counsellor at the hospital, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity because of a lack of authorisation to speak to the press, said her condition had worsened.

“Cheptegei has developed a bacterial infection of sepsis due to the severe injuries to the stomach and the lower part of the body,” the counsellor said.

Top Kenyan sports ministry official Peter Tum said Wednesday that the Ugandan and Kenyan governments were both involved in her care.

“There are efforts to make sure the athlete, who is admitted in Eldoret, is airlifted to Nairobi for specialised treatment,” he told local media, without giving further details.

‘Heart is tearing’

Kenyan media reported that one of Cheptegei’s daughters witnessed the assault at her mother’s home.

“He kicked me while I tried to run to the rescue of my mother,” Kenya’s The Standard reported her as saying.

“I immediately cried out for help, attracting a neighbour who tried to extinguish the flames with water, but it was not possible,” said the girl, who has not been named.

The Standard said Cheptegei has two daughters aged nine and 11.

Marangach was also wounded in the incident, sustaining 30 percent burns on his body. Police initially described him as Cheptegei’s partner.

But Cheptegei’s father told local media that his daughter was married to a Ugandan man, who was not in Kenya.

“My heart is tearing,” he told a local television channel on Tuesday. “I have never seen such cruelty.”

“All that I am crying for is justice,” he said.

Cheptegei took part in the women’s marathon at the Paris Games on August 11, placing 44th.

The assault comes two years after Kenyan-born athlete Damaris Mutua was found dead in Iten, a world-famous running hub in the Rift Valley.

And in 2021, record-breaking Kenyan runner Agnes Tirop, 25, was found stabbed to death at her home in Iten in 2021. Her estranged husband, who is on trial over her murder, has denied the charges.

Latest figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics published in January 2023 found that 34 percent of women in the country had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.