"It's a dangerous trend, third female athlete being murdered in Kenya" - Fans angry as Rebecca Cheptegei dies after being set on fire by ex-boyfriend

Fans expressed their outrage over the death of Uganda's Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who was reportedly set on fire by her ex-boyfriend. She made her Olympics debut at the recently concluded Paris Games.

Cheptegei, 33, was allegedly set on fire by her former partner Dickson Marangach. She was admitted to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, where she succumbed to her injuries and burns on her body. The heartbreaking incident unfolded on Sunday when her ex-partner poured gasoline on her and set the Olympian on fire at her western Kenya home. As per some reports, the couple had been involved in a land dispute for a long time.

Dr. Kimani Mbugua, a member of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, addressed the media and said that the hospital's staff did everything they could. However, Rebecca Cheptegei's severe burns and multi-organ failure led to her death.

"She had a severe percentage of burns, which unfortunately led to multi-organ failure, which ultimately led to her passing this morning at 05:30 [02:30 GMT]," Mbugua said (as quoted by the BBC).

Usher Komugisha, a sports executive, took to her X handle (formerly Twitter) and protested gender-based violence against women. She also highlighted the deaths of two other female Kenyan athletes, Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua, who were killed by their partners under similar circumstances and wrote:

"Domestic violence has no place in society and for top female athletes, it is becoming increasingly fatal especially with jealous partners. Rebecca Cheptegei (Uganda 🇺🇬) now joins two Kenyans Agnes Tirop (2021) and Damaris Mutua (2022) who were killed by partners in Iten, Kenya."

Cheptegei's demise sparked worldwide indignation as fans expressed their anger over violence against women. Reacting to Komugisha's tweet, a fan questioned:

"It's a dangerous trend, a third female athlete being murdered by an intimate partner in Kenya. Should love hurt? Should love kill? How is a woman to know if she is safe with her partner?!"

Another fan wrote:

"Shocking. Despicable and wicked. Men must do better."

Here some more outraged comments from fans.

"This is heartbreaking," a fan commented.

"The sports fraternity must boldly speak against this, and jealous should never be an excuse to deny a soul its right to life. Therefore preliminary reports about Rebecca Cheptegei's death must be provided by the Kenyan Authorities," wrote a fan.

"Because of a piece of land, when material love takes over there is no more love left, Rip legend," another fan tweeted.

"This is beyond heart breaking. I am so sorry to her family and her country Uganda," another one commented.

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What Rebecca Cheptegei's father had to say

Rebecca Cheptegei finished in 44th place with a time of 2:32:14 in the women's marathon at the Paris Olympics. Talking about his Olympian daughter, Mzee Joseph Cheptegei said that he has lost a daughter who supported him in many ways.

"I have lost a daughter who has been helping in many ways. We have children in secondary schools and I don’t know how we are going to cope with this challenge to ensure they complete their studies," Mr. Cheptegei said (as quoted by The Star).

"I have a lot of grief because I’ve lost my daughter. I seek your help so that this person who has killed my daughter can be prosecuted," he added.