Olympic champion and two-time world record holder, Joshua Cheptegei, has asked that Ugandan athletes training in Kenya to return home for their safety.
Cheptegei is concerned about his fellow Ugandan athletes after marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei was killed by her former boyfriend. He, Dixon Ndiema poured gasoline on her and lit her on fire. Both eventually died from the burns that they suffered.
So heartbreaking 💔
— Joshua Cheptegei 🇺🇬🇺🇬 🥇🥇 (@joshuacheptege1) September 7, 2024
Your loss is unbearable, Gender based violence has no place and should not have any place in our communities, imagine loosing such a gentle soul.
Rest well my sister. pic.twitter.com/enkWmRTKto
Another Ugandan athlete, Benjamin Kiplagat, who raced in the 3,000-metre steeplechase at the 2012 London Olympics, died in Kenya in 2023 from a stabbing incident.
Domestic abuse also seems to be a problem in Kenya with the death of Olympian Agnes Tirop by her husband. The dispute was eerily similar to Cheptegei and Ndiema, over land ownership.
Cheptegei was laid to rest in Bukwo, Eastern Uganda. She was in toxic relationship with Ndiema. According to her family, he had threatened to kill her before.
Her burial ceremony was attended by local leaders and fellow athletes. Kenya’s Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, said that the country let Cheptegei down.
