Murdered Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei to be buried on September 14

The funeral of Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who died in Kenya after being set on fire by her ex-boyfriend, will take place in her home country on September 14.

The 33-year-old woman, who competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics last month, died of severe burns on Thursday, September 5, four days after she was doused with petrol and set on fire in her home in western Kenya.

According to doctors, she suffered burns over 80 percent of her body after the attack last Sunday.

The attack was carried out by Cheptegei’s Kenyan partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, who also suffered serious burns and is being treated in hospital.

“Rebecca Cheptegei’s funeral date has been set for September 14 in Kongasis sub-county in Bukwo district (eastern Uganda),” Beatrice Ayikoru, secretary-general of the Uganda Olympic Committee and member of the organizing committee for the funeral, told AFP.

Bukwo is the home town of Cheptegei’s family and is located on the border with Kenya, about 380 kilometers northeast of the Ugandan capital Kampala.

Last Friday, the city of Paris announced that it would honor Cheptegei, who finished 44th in her Olympic marathon debut in August, by naming a sporting venue after her.