Ugandans on Saturday (September 14, 2024) paid tributes to Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after her accomplice set her on hearth in Kenya, forward of her funeral in her household village.
The 33-year-old who debuted this summer time within the girls’s marathon on the Paris Olympics succumbed to extreme burns final week after being attacked by Kenyan Dickson Ndiema Marangach.
The brutal assault shocked the East African area and prompted a worldwide outpouring of tributes, with activists condemning one other act of gender-based violence in Kenya.
On Saturday (September 14, 2024) morning, residents, officers and family waited within the chilly morning mild to pay their respects within the village of Bukwo, some 380 km northeast of Uganda’s capital Kampala.
“We’re extraordinarily saddened,” stated her estranged husband Simon Ayeko, with whom she had two daughters. “As a father, it has been very troublesome,” he informed AFP, explaining he had not been capable of break the information to their youngsters. “Slowly we are going to inform them the reality.”
The service to honour Cheptegei, a sergeant within the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, began round 10:00 a.m., with officers and family gathering on the native council workplace.
The athlete was a “heroine” Bessie Modest Ajilong, the native presidential consultant, informed AFP.
Cheptegei’s physique would transfer from native council headquarters, organisers stated, to a close-by sports activities stadium in order that the general public may pay their respects. She’s going to then be formally laid to relaxation at round 3:00 p.m.
Scores of athletes have travelled to the small village to attend the ceremonies.
“She enormously contributed to the promotion of athletics till her final days,” coach Alex Malinga, who skilled her as a teen, informed AFP.
‘Relationship soured’
Native media say Cheptegei’s daughters witnessed the assault. Police stated Marangach snuck into her house whereas she was at church along with her youngsters.
Her household say the couple had argued over possession of the property the place she lived along with her sister Dorcas Cherop and daughters.
Her attacker later died from accidents sustained within the assault.
“I believe at the moment, their relationship had turn into bitter,” Cheptegei’s brother-in-law, Moses Kipsiro, informed AFP.
“I didn’t know then one thing was fallacious,” stated Mr. Kipsiro, who beforehand skilled with Cheptegei and likewise hails from Bukwo.
The vicious assault has thrown yet one more highlight on what activists have known as a femicide epidemic.
Kenya reported 725 femicide instances in 2022 alone, in line with the newest U.N. figures.
A report the next 12 months by Kenya’s Nationwide Bureau of Statistics discovered 34% of girls had skilled bodily violence because the age of 15.
No less than two different athletes, Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua, have misplaced their lives in home violence incidents since 2021.
Printed – September 14, 2024 05:35 pm IST
