Rebecca Cheptegei. Photo: ukrinform
NAIROBI. A Ugandan Olympic athlete who lived in Kenya has died tragically after being set on fire by her ex-boyfriend, The Washington Post reports. This case was another in a series of incidents of domestic violence against female athletes in East Africa.
Rebecca Cheptegei, who lived in the Kenyan city of Eldoret, was the victim of a brutal attack in front of her children, aged 9 and 11. Her ex-boyfriend, Dixon Needema, attacked her with gasoline and set her on fire, despite her repeated complaints to the police about his violence and threats. The tragedy happened on Sunday afternoon, when Rebecca was returning from church with her children. Needema first attacked her with a machete, then doused her with gasoline and set her on fire in the yard of her home, where Cheptegai was near the chicken coop.
Neighbors immediately tried to help by stopping the fire, knocking her to the ground and dousing her with water, after which Rebecca was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, doctors could not save her life and she died from severe burns. Needema also suffered burns while trying to douse Cheptegai with petrol and is now in hospital under police supervision.
Joseph Cheptegei, father of Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, speaks in Eldoret, Kenya, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
The ambiguous role of the police and domestic violence in Kenya
According to her father, Joseph Cheptegei, Rebecca had repeatedly complained about Needema’s behavior to the local police, but there was no response to her appeal. Only a few days before the tragedy, she turned to the law enforcement officers again due to repeated threats. However, the police were slow to react, refusing to intervene immediately and advising them to return in a few days. Her death highlights systemic problems with the handling of domestic violence complaints in the region.
In addition to this tragedy, Kenya has witnessed several similar incidents of violence against female athletes in recent years. In 2021, 25-year-old Kenyan runner Agnes Jebeth Tirop was stabbed to death by her husband in the town of Iten, near Eldoret. In 2022, another elite runner, Damaris Muti Mutua, was found strangled in the same region, whose boyfriend, an Ethiopian runner, is still wanted.
Motorcyclists drive past a city sign in Iten, an upscale town about 160 miles northwest of Nairobi, in 2021. Photo: Casmir Oduor/AFP/Getty Images
Socio-economic pressure and gender violence
Rebecca Cheptegei’s death highlights the complex relationship between sport, economic pressures and gender-based violence in Kenya. Many female athletes, like Cheptegai, earn significant sums of money from their sporting achievements, often making them targets for partners who seek to control their financial resources. Viola Ceptu, a marathon runner and founder of the charity organization Tirop’s Angels, emphasizes that coaches or partners often abuse the trust of young athletes, which leads to violence and manipulation.
According to Cheptegei, her daughter moved to Kenya from Uganda in search of a better life, escaping violence in her home region. She bought land near the sports grounds in Eldoret, but the relationship with Needema quickly turned into a nightmare when he tried to take control of her property.
The problem of domestic violence in Kenya
According to the UN, almost a quarter of Kenyan women experience violence from their partners every year. This problem is especially acute in rural regions, where women face a lack of support from law enforcement agencies and public organizations. Despite numerous reports of domestic violence, many cases drag on for years or never reach court. The tragedy of Rebecca Cheptegei once again shows that this problem requires immediate and decisive action by the state and society.
