Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Rebecca Cheptegei, a Ugandan athlete who competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, is currently battling for her dear life at the hospital after being set ablaze by her boyfriend in a domestic violence attack.
The assault took place in her house in Kenya’s Trans Nzoia County, where Cheptegei had just bought land to be closer to sports training facilities.
Police reports indicate that Cheptegei’s boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, doused her with petrol and set her on fire during an argument.
Both Cheptegei and Ndiema sustained burn wounds and are receiving specialised treatment at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret City.
According to local reports, the couple was involved in a dispute over the land where their home was built prior to the incident.
The incident follows a series of concerning events involving athletes in the region.
In 2023, Ugandan runner Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead with stab wounds, and in 2022, Kenyan-born athlete Damaris Muthee was found dead with a strangulation mark.
(Source: AP)