Alleged killer of Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei dies from burns, hospital says
The man, the former partner of the 33-year-old marathoner, had sustained 30 per cent burns when he attacked her over a property dispute
The man who attacked Ugandan runner Rebecca Cheptegei has died from injuries sustained when he poured petrol over the Olympic athlete, the Kenyan hospital treating him said on Tuesday.
Police said that Dickson Ndiema Marangach assaulted Cheptegei in her home in western Kenya on September 1. The mother-of-two sustained 80 per cent burns and died last week.
In the course of the attack, Marangach also incurred 30 per cent burns and was being treated in the intensive care unit at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in the Rift Valley city of Eldoret.
“It’s true we lost Dickson Ndiema last night at about 8pm,” an official at the hospital’s communications department said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the press.
His family had been informed, the official said, adding that a “comprehensive statement” would be released later.
The attack on the 33-year-old Cheptegei has been greeted with sorrow and anger as yet another horrific example of gender-based violence in the East African country.
