The ex-boyfriend of the Ugandan Olympic athlete, who set her on fire and killed her, has died. He died from burns he got during the attack on his ex-girlfriend.
The man, Dickson Ndiema, ambushed her in her home as she came from church and set Rebecca Cheptegei on fire after dousing her in petrol. Cheptegei died 4 days later.
Ndiema however also burned himself during the attack, sustaining 40% burns. He died this week at the intensive care unit of the same hospital that his victim had been admitted before she died.
The Kenyan hospital released a statement that said in part:
“He developed respiratory failure as a result of the severe airway burns and sepsis that led to his eventual death on Monday evening at 18:30 hours [15:30 GMT] despite life-saving measures”
Said Cheptegei’s father on the boyfriends death:
“This guy is dead because he killed my daughter. He has died because of his actions.”
Ndiema apparently attacked Cheptegei over a piece of land they were fighting over.
He was to be arrested for the murder of Cheptegei after recovering from the burns. The murder case has apparently now been dropped following his death, as he was the only suspect.
Beatrice Ayikoru, an official with the Uganda Olympic Committee commented on the development:
“I don’t wish bad things on anyone, but of course I would have loved for him to face the law as an example for others so that these attacks on women can stop.”
Cheptegei, who was 33, was a Ugandan-Kenyan born in the border area of the two countries. She chose to be part of the Ugandan Olympics athletics team after she failed to represent Kenya. She competed at this year’s Paris Olympics and came 44th in the marathon.
She is the 3rd athlete to be murdered in Kenya in the last 3 years by a former or current partner.