Uganda athlete Rebecca hospitalized after her boyfriend set her on fire

Uganda athlete and Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei has been hospitalized after her boyfriend set her on fire. Rebecca is a 33-year-old athlete who recently participated in the most recent Olympics in Paris.

The boyfriend burned Rebecca alive while sprinkling petrol on her and eventually set her on fire in Kenya. As a result, she went into critical condition and neighbors rushed her to receive medical treatment at a Kenyan hospital.

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Ugandan long-distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei has been hospitalized following a violent assault by her boyfriend.

Details: https://t.co/aFiRlqSjE0 #NBSportUpdates | ✍️ @BryanAheebwa pic.twitter.com/HEzIf1XPCw
— NBS Sport (@NBSportUg) September 3, 2024

According to authorities, 75% of her body suffered burnt injuries. The tragic incident happened to her when she was receiving training at her house in western Kenya.

Neighbors rescued and rushed her to hospital following the fire incident. It happened at Rebecca’s residence in the tiny village of Endebess on September 1, 2024.

However, this incident became public today when local police commander Jeremiah Ole Kosiom revealed this incident to media reporters today. He stated neighbors told them Rebecca and her boyfriend were fighting outside the home.

Afterward, they witnessed him throwing petrol at Rebecca which burned her to critical injuries. However, the offender also sustained burned injuries. Since then, Uganda athlete Rebecca and her boyfriend have been hospitalized at Moi Referral Hospital in Eldoret.

The victim athlete and her boyfriend were reportedly fighting over the land plot. Rebecca is from an area in Uganda just across the Kenya-Uganda border.

Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei is currently receiving treatment at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret after her Kenyan boyfriend set her on fire in Kitale.

Cheptegei, who competed in the 10,000-meter race at the Paris Olympics, suffered burns covering 75%… pic.twitter.com/a7723p4ztb
— Ole Teya (@TeyaKevin) September 2, 2024

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She purchased a land plot in Trans Nzoia County and constructed a home next to one of Kenya’s many sports training facilities. This plot became the reason for the fight between them. Authorities are further investigating this case.

The rising number of violent incidents against female athletes in Kenya has raised concerns among the public. Some of those incidents have turned fatal.

Kenya also witnessed another female runner Damaris Mutua strangled in the Rift Valley village in April 2022. It happened a few months after authorities found the town’s record-breaking long-distance runner Agnes Tirop fatally stabbed.