Olympic athlete Cheptegei revolted against her abusive former partner. However, she tragically lost her life

In the early hours of Sunday, September 1st, Rebecca Cheptegei, an Olympic marathon runner, was making arrangements to attend church from her residence in the highlands of western Kenya. Her former partner contacted a friend of his to inquire about the possibility of borrowing a lighter.

When contacted by Reuters at his residence in the Mount Elgon area, where Cheptegei resided, Dennis Masai Chepkongin, a former runner, indicated that he had a “urgent” situation and was leaving town.

“When I inquired about the reason, he exhibited a high level of secrecy,” Chepkongin stated, explicitly stating that he refused the request.

According to Cheptegei’s relatives and police, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, Cheptegei’s ex-boyfriend, drenched the runner with gasoline and ignited her.

Both individuals succumbed to their burns in the hospital. Due to Marangach’s unavailability for comment before to his death, Reuters was unable to independently confirm the specifics of the events that occurred on that day.

An anonymous police official, who declined to be identified due to their lack of formal authority to communicate with the media, verified that Marangach was being investigated for murder at the time of his death.

The area surrounding Cheptegei’s residence in the tranquil hamlet of Kinyoro bore witness to a brutal demise. Upon reporters’ arrival last weekend, the ground was coated with char and saturated with gasoline. Her 17-year-old sister, Dorcas, who was assaulted with a machete, sat in a state of quiet crying, her body stooped, or gazed hopelessly into the distance.

The assassination of Cheptegei shortly after the athlete’s participation for Uganda in the Paris Olympics caught the world off guard. Nevertheless, Cheptegei and her family were not surprised, as her dad informed Reuters.

Their narrative illuminates the negative aspects of achievement for female athletes in Kenya’s male-dominated society. Top-tier runners have the potential to generate higher income in a single marathon than the combined earnings of many Kenyans in a year. Their success often renders women susceptible to predatory males who want to manipulate them and seize control of their possessions.

According to reports, Cheptegei was the third female runner to be murdered in Kenya since 2021, purportedly by her love partners. The burial ceremony was held on Saturday in the adjacent Bukwo area of Uganda, with complete military honours, as the athlete was a member of the Ugandan armed forces.

Cheptegei had made precautions to safeguard herself.

A 33-year-old unmarried mother of two children born in Uganda, she quit her connection with Marangach, independently handled her finances, and supported a large family consisting of her parents, twelve siblings, and her two girls, ages 9 and 11, according to family members.

According to her father, Joseph, she had visited the police on at least three occasions this year to denounce threats and physical assault perpetrated by Marangach.

He provided Reuters with police paperwork that verified the complaints she lodged in February and May, respectively, in Kinyoro and the adjacent town of Kitale.

“This individual is prepared to cause the death of my child,” Joseph said to law enforcement in February, following Marangach’s purported physical assault and destruction of her phone.

According to his account, the police had instructed Marangach to refrain from approaching Cheptegei’s residence, but he disregarded their instructions. “We subsequently returned to the police, but they displayed a lack of enthusiasm in pursuing any further action.” My daughter perished due to the systemic failure of the police.

A request for comment on that matter was not responded to by either the local or the national police. Government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura declined to answer Reuters’ inquiries.

Following Cheptegei’s murder, several female runners were left feeling hopeless by what they referred to as the ongoing lack of action by the government and Athletics Kenya, the national governing organization for the sport.

“There is a lack of accountability,” stated Joan Chelimo, a co-founder of Tirop’s Angels, a non-profit organization created to provide assistance to victims of domestic violence following the fatal stabbing of Kenyan long-distance runner Agnes Tirop in 2021.

A case of murder was brought against Ibrahim Rotich, the husband of Tirop. Having entered a plea of not guilty, he was granted bail last year. His lawsuit is still under progress, and his attorney refused to provide any comments.

In 2022, Damaris Mutua, a Kenyan-Bahraini runner, was also fatally targeted. Her Ethiopian partner was identified as a suspect. Police in Kenya report that he escaped from the country.

The sporting minister of Kenya, Kipchumba Murkomen, has denounced the assault on Cheptegei and pledged to take appropriate measures.

An adviser to President William Ruto stated that authorities are actively engaged in efforts to mitigate gender-based violence within the realm of sports. However, campaigners argue that its efforts are inadequate.

“A very forward-thinking individual”

Gender-based violence is a significant issue in Kenya. Government statistics from 2022 indicates that one out of every three adolescent girls and women have experienced victimization.

Number of Femicides Kenya, an NGO that utilises media reports to provide evidence of deliberate killings driven by gender-related factors, has documented 157 instances of women being killed so far in 2024. This is the highest number of homicides in a year since the start of data collection in 2019.

“An increasing number of women are experiencing violence, yet they are not receiving any assistance from law enforcement,” stated Audrey Mugeni, the co-founder of the organization.

Elizabeth Keitany, a member of the executive board of Athletics Kenya, stated that her team has provided assistance to six young women who have found refuge from violent situations since 2022. This assistance includes providing them with a secure living environment and access to therapy services.

“In response to any reported case, we respond promptly,” she stated to Reuters.

Esther Chemtai, a 24-year-old athlete who competes with Cheptegei, revealed that at the age of 18, she endured an abusive relationship with a man who demanded that she surrender all of her income to him. Upon her refusal, he physically assaulted her.

According to Chemtai, she ended her relationship with him in January 2023 with the assistance of Tirop’s Angels, who provided her with support and counselling.

Chemtai described Cheptegei as a clear-minded individual who fearlessly disengaged from exerting control over men.

“Refusal from her unequivocally indicated rejection,” Chemtai stated.

Furthermore, Cheptegei demonstrated her commitment to her family by purchasing property for her father valued at $1,200 in 2016, which was about comparable to 11 months of Kenya’s minimum wage at the time.

According to her family, she encountered Marangach, a motorcycle taxi driver and aspiring athlete, in either 2020 or 2021 while she was residing in Uganda. Marangach encouraged her to go to Kenya and engage in training at Iten, a prominent center for elite long-distance runners and a popular destination for visitors seeking high-altitude training.

According to former runner Chepkongin, she constructed a residence in Kinyoro, which is located slightly over two hours away from Iten. She relocated to the premises in 2021. He, a former world U20 champion, claimed to have encountered her during that period.

The residence is a modest two-bedroom dwelling situated on a limited area of land in a tranquil community with minimal infrastructure. Although the roads are unpaved and filled with potholes, the availability of electricity is restricted — on a clear night, the Milky Way is observable — the closeness to Iten proved advantageous for training purposes.

According to the police officer, Marangach had documentation of ownership of the property. However, Cheptegei’s father refutes this assertion. He presented Reuters with a photograph of a land deed that was registered and stamped in March 2021. The document identified Rebecca as the buyer of the property in Kinyoro, with Marangach as a witness.

Marangach’s family and Chepkongin maintain that Cheptegei provided financial support to her. The retired athlete stated that he had maintained a friendship with Marangach since 2018 and had also provided financial assistance for his rent, training outfit, and other miscellaneous living costs.

“Dickson had no financial resources prior to Rebecca’s arrival in his life,” he stated.

Two sisters of Marangach confirmed to Reuters that his family was genuinely impoverished. However, according to his older sister, Naomi Chebet Kiprop, the couple had combined assets to purchase the property where Cheptegei resided with her daughters.

“I believe that God would have facilitated Dickson in securing a permanent residence,” she recounted to Reuters.

“With Dickson’s passing, we are entirely devoid of resources.”

Everyone relied on her.

In January, Cheptegei terminated her connection with Marangach, according to her father. In May, she filed a case with the police against Marangach regarding his deployment of personnel with the intention of coercing her into surrendering her land and residence.

Chepkongin and Samwel Kibet, who are also friends of Marangach, alleged that he disregarded their counsel to allow Cheptegei to be alone.

Cheptegei visited the police authorities once more on Friday, August 30th. According to her father, who was present with her, and Chepkongin, the cops instructed her to come back the next Monday.

According to the local police official, the issue was perceived by officers as a land dispute following a deteriorating relationship. The official further stated that the police believed they had successfully reconciled the two partners.

When Cheptegei and her family were at church on Sunday morning, Marangach surreptitiously crawled over the barbed wire fence on her property and concealed herself behind the chicken coop until she came back, according to her father, who referred to an account provided by her sister Dorcas.

According to Joseph Cheptegei, Marangach assaulted Rebecca and attacked Dorcas with a machete when she attempted to intervene.

Dorcas refrained from discussing the attack with Reuters, but reiterated her sister’s determination to survive.

“My sister consistently emphasized the need of women having their own financial resources, so gaining empowerment and reducing their reliance on others,” she elaborated.

Cheptegei sustained burns covering 80% of her body. Upon her hospitalisation, her father reported being able to only identify her voice. She passed away four days later.

At Cheptegei’s family’s homestead, about an hour away from Rebecca’s residence, their grief was intensified by the profound extent of their loss.

“Everyone within this compound relied on her.” “I am uncertain about my current course of action,” her mother Agnes replied, succumbing to tears.