Olympic runner The Gruesome Death of Rebecca Cheptegei After she was doused in petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend, the harrowing history of domestic violence against female athletes in Kenya has been brought back into the spotlight.

Her murder follows the deaths of at least two other high-profile female runners by domestic violence in the past three years in a region that has produced dozens of Olympic and world champions.

What happened to Cheptegei?

Cheptegei, who was from Uganda, died Thursday at the age of 33. According to police, Cheptegei’s boyfriend poured a can of gasoline over her and set her on fire. during a dispute on Sunday. She suffered burns to 80% of her body and died four days later in a hospital in the town of Eldoret.

The friend was also burned in the attack and is being treated at the same hospital. No criminal charges have been filed against him.

Cheptegei took part in the women’s marathon at the Olympic Games in Paris less than a month ago, where she finished 44th. She lived in the famous high-altitude training area of ​​western Kenya, which attracts the world’s best long-distance runners, and had recently built a house there to be close to the training centers.

Agnes Tirop

The brutal murder of Kenyan star runner Tirop in the same region in 2021 led to outbursts of anger among fellow athletes and caused the East African country’s athletics authorities to recognise the problem of domestic violence as a major issue.

Tirop was one of Kenya’s greatest talents at the time She was stabbed to death in her home in ItenKenya’s other world-famous running training town, besides Eldoret. Her husband, who was on the run, was arrested days after the murder and has been charged with murder. His trial is ongoing.

Like Cheptegei, the 25-year-old Tirop had just competed in the Olympics — the 2021 Tokyo Games — and had set a new world record in the 10-kilometer road race a month before she was killed. Her body was found with stab wounds to her abdomen and neck, and blunt force trauma to her head.

In the weeks following Tirop’s death, current and former male and female athletes spoke out about what they called a longstanding problem of domestic violence against female athletes in the region. Some marched through the streets of Iten to demand better protections for female athletes and tougher laws against abusers.

Other Kenyan athletes, such as Ruth Bosibori, a former African steeplechase champion, and Joan Chelimo, a marathon runner, said Tirop’s killing had given them the courage to talk about their own abusive relationships.

Both said they had fled violent partners who made them fear for their lives.

Damaris Muthee

Just six months after Tirop, another runner was killed. Kenyan-born Muthee, who competed for Bahrain, was found dead in a house in Iten after being strangled. Her decomposing body had been there for days before it was found, authorities said at the time.

An Ethiopian male runner with whom she was in a relationship was charged with murder. Muthee, who was 28, had a young child from another relationship.

The incidences of domestic violence in the Kenyan running community are set against the exceptionally high levels of violence against women in the country, which marches fueled by ordinary citizens in cities and towns this year.

Activists say successful female athletes are particularly vulnerable when their partners want to manage their money and assets in an impoverished region and the women refuse and resist.

According to police, Cheptegei was killed during a dispute with her boyfriend over land on which she had just built a house.

Samuel Wanjiru

One of Kenya’s top male athletes also died in what authorities called a domestic dispute in 2011. Wanjiru, 24 and the reigning Olympic marathon champion at the time, fell to his death from a balcony at his home during an argument with his wife.

He had been arrested a year earlier and questioned by police for allegedly threatening his wife with an assault rifle. He denied the charges.

Although Kenyan authorities determined that Wanjiru died after falling or jumping from the balcony, his family claimed he was killed.

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AP Africa News: https://apnews.com/hub/africa