Fallen Ugandan Olympian buried with full military honors – DW – 09-14-2024

Ugandans on Saturday remembered Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after her partner set her on fire earlier this month.

The 33-year-old made her debut in the women’s marathon this summer at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Relatives gather in Olympian’s birth village

On Saturday morning, relatives paid their respects to Cheptegei in the village of Bukwo, near the Uganda-Kenya border.

She was officially buried at 3:00 p.m. local time (1200 UTC).

“We are extremely sad,” her estranged husband Simon Ayeko told the French news agency AFP.

“As a father it has been very difficult,” he said. Ayeko has two daughters with Cheptegei.

The coffin was saluted by Ugandan military personnel, who played an important role in the ceremony as Cheptegei held the rank of sergeant in the Ugandan army.

Local presidential delegate Bessie Modest Ajilong told AFP that Cheptegei was a “heroine” and an “inspiration”.

What do we know about Cheptegei’s death?

The 33-year-old Olympic athlete died last week from severe burns after being attacked by her partner, Kenyan Dickson Ndiema Marangach.

According to police, Marangach had secretly entered Cheptegei’s home in Trans-Nzoia County in western Kenya to hide while she was at church with her children.

The couple had a dispute over ownership of the Kenyan estate where she lived with her sister Dorcas Cherop and daughters, the police report said.

Marangach also died from wounds sustained in the attack.

Cheptegei is the fourth female athlete to be murdered by her partner in Kenya. Kenya’s high femicide rates have led to several marches this year.

sdi/rm (AP, AFP)