Ugandan Olympic athlete who died from burns gets military funeral
Global News
Thousands of mourners in Uganda paid respects to Rebecca Cheptegei, the Olympic athlete who died last week in Kenya after her partner set her on fire, at a military funeral.
Thousands of mourners in Uganda paid respects to Rebecca Cheptegei, the Olympic athlete who died last week in Kenya after her partner set her on fire, at a military funeral in a remote town near the Kenyan border.
Military officers played a prominent role in the funeral because Cheptegei held the rank of sergeant in Uganda’s army, said military spokesman Brig. Felix Kulayigye, adding that she deserved a “gun salute that befits her rank.”
Athletes, family members and others delivered their eulogies before thousands in a sports field in the district of Bukwo.
Cheptegei, who was 33, will be buried later on Saturday.
She died after her body suffered 80% burns in the attack by Dickson Ndiema, who doused her in gasoline at her home in western Kenya’s Trans-Nzoia County on Sept. 3. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed to his injuries.
According to a report filed by the local chief, they quarreled over a piece of land the athlete bought in Kenya.
The horrific gasoline attack shocked many and strengthened calls for the protection of female runners facing exploitation and abuse in the East African country.
Cheptegei’s body was returned to Uganda Friday in a somber procession following a street march by dozens of activists in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret who demanded an end to physical violence against female athletes.