Suspected killer of Olympic athlete dies of burns – DW – 09/10/2024

The former partner of Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei has died in a Kenyan hospital, local media reported Tuesday, after suffering severe burns during his alleged attack on the marathon runner.

According to police, Dickson Ndiema Marangach had sneaked into Cheptegei’s house on September 1 when she went to church with her two daughters.

When she returned, authorities said, “he poured gasoline on her and set her on fire” in front of her children.

Cheptegei suffered burns over approximately 80% of her body and died from her injuries four days after the attack on September 1.

Marangach, who suffered burns over about 30% of his body, died at 7:50 p.m. (16:50 GMT) on Monday, said Daniel Lang’at, spokesman for the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret in western Kenya, where Cheptegei was also treated and died.

Worldwide, a woman is murdered by a family member every 11 minutes — UN

The case has drawn attention to femicide in East Africa.

Nearly 34% of Kenyan women between the ages of 15 and 49 have experienced physical violence, according to government data from 2022, with married women at particular risk. The study found that 41% of married women have experienced violence.

According to a 2023 UN Women study, a woman is murdered by a family member every 11 minutes worldwide.

es, jsi/kb (AP, AFP, Reuters)