Hundreds of Ugandans and athletes paid their last respects at her funeral on Saturday for Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who was doused in petrol and set alight by her partner just weeks after running the Paris Olympic marathon.
The 33-year-old marathon runner died on September 5 from severe, multiple injuries after being attacked on September 1 by her Kenyan partner in Kenya, where she lived and trained.
Her attacker, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, 32, doused her with petrol before killing her. He himself was badly burned and died on Monday in a Kenyan hospital.
Rebecca Cheptegei’s death has sparked an international wave of tributes and outrage. Human rights activists have denounced this new femicide in Kenya, where two other athletes, Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua, have been killed and their partners accused of the murders since 2021.
On Saturday morning, relatives of the Ugandan athlete, residents and officials, gathered to pay their last respects in the village of Bukwo where her family lives, about 380 kilometers northeast of the Ugandan capital Kampala.
The ceremony to honour the memory of the athlete, who was also a sergeant in the Ugandan army, began at 10am (0700 GMT) with a gathering of family members and officials at a local town hall.
Her coffin, draped in the Ugandan flag, was saluted by army officers, who carried the remains to a community hall that looks out over the remote hills of the young woman’s childhood.
The coffin was then carried to a nearby stadium where hundreds of people flocked to pay their respects.
Finally, Rebecca Cheptegei was buried in the afternoon among the trees on the hills. A volley of cannon fire accompanied the placing of the coffin in the grave – a practice generally reserved for high ranking Ugandan officials – followed by prayers from local clerics.
– Epidemic of feminicides –
Rebecca Cheptegei was “a heroine,” Bessie Modest Ajilong, the local representative of the Ugandan presidency, told AFP, describing her as an “exceptional” person. “We leaders considered her an inspiration,” she added.
Many athletes, including Kenyans Mary Keitany and Daniel Komen, flocked to the small town to pay their last respects to the young woman, who placed 44th in the marathon at the Paris Olympics on August 11.
“She contributed a lot to the promotion of athletics until her last days,” Alex Malinga, who coached her when she was a teenager, assured AFP. “Cheptegei was an inspiration to younger generations who hoped to one day be like her.”
On Friday, relatives of the athlete in Kenya gathered to honour his memory around his coffin in the town of Eldoret (western Kenya), in the Rift Valley – which is the heart of the country’s athletics – and close to where he lived.
His remains then crossed the border from Kenya, Africa’s track and field powerhouse, into Uganda late Friday afternoon.
“We are extremely sad,” Simon Ayeko, Rebecca’s ex-husband, with whom she has two daughters, commented on Friday.
“As a father, it’s been very difficult,” he added, explaining that he hadn’t yet been able to break the news to his children. “Little by little, we’ll tell them the truth.”
According to police, Rebecca’s attacker broke into and hid in her home while she was at church with her children.
Ms Cheptegei’s family says the couple argued over the property where she lived with her sister and daughters. “I think their relationship had deteriorated by then,” said Moses Kipsiro, Ms Cheptegei’s brother-in-law.
“I didn’t know anything was wrong,” continued Mr Kipsiro, who is originally from Bukwo and had trained with Rebecca Cheptegei.
The killing has once again highlighted what human rights activists say is an epidemic of femicide in the East African country of Kenya. According to the UN, the country reported 725 cases in 2022 alone.
A report released the following year by Kenya’s National Bureau of Statistics found that the percentage of women aged 15 to 49 who had experienced physical violence since the age of 15 was 34%.