Uganda holds funeral for murdered Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei

Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei honoured after tragic death in gender-based violence incident, sparking global outrage and tributes.

Ugandans on Saturday (September 14, 2024) paid tributes to Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after her partner set her on fire in Kenya, ahead of her funeral in her family village.

The 33-year-old who debuted this summer in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics succumbed to severe burns last week after being attacked by Kenyan Dickson Ndiema Marangach.

The brutal assault shocked the East African region and prompted a global outpouring of tributes, with activists condemning another act of gender-based violence in Kenya.

On Saturday (September 14, 2024) morning, residents, officials and relatives waited in the cold morning light to pay their respects in the village of Bukwo, some 380 km northeast of Uganda’s capital Kampala.

“We are extremely saddened,” said her estranged husband Simon Ayeko, with whom she had two daughters. “As a father, it has been very difficult,” he told AFP, explaining he had not been able to break the news to their children. “Slowly we will tell them the truth.”

The service to honour Cheptegei, a sergeant in the Uganda Peoples’ Defence Forces, started around 10:00 a.m., with officials and relatives gathering at the local council office.

The athlete was a “heroine” Bessie Modest Ajilong, the local presidential representative, told AFP.