Olympian dead

Father: “… then my daughter would still be alive”

Rebecca Cheptegei (3rd from left) is dead.

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Ugandan Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei has died as a result of an arson attack by her partner. Her father is now making serious accusations against the police.

Joseph Cheptegei, the athlete's father, spoke of a "terrible death". He accused the police of failing to protect his daughter from her partner, whom she had already felt threatened by before the crime. "We contacted the police and security authorities, but they didn't react quickly enough to save our daughter," he complained. "If they had acted quickly enough, my daughter would still be alive."

Rebecca Cheptegei

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Argument escalated
According to police, Cheptegei's partner had doused her with petrol and set her on fire. The 33-year-old was treated in hospital in Eldoret with serious burns after the incident on Sunday. According to the hospital, Cheptegei suffered burns to 80 percent of her body surface in the attack.

Previously, there is said to have been a dispute between the two over a piece of land, among other things. The partner was also caught in the flames. Neighbors extinguished the fire and took them both to hospital. The police are investigating the man for murder.

Demonstrations against gender-based violence
In Kenya, femicides have repeatedly rocked the East African country in recent months. At the beginning of the year, thousands of people across the country demonstrated against gender-based violence.