Dickson Ndiema, the man who was linked to the murder of Ugandan road race runner Rebecca Cheptegei, has died from fire burns sustained during the attack.
Reports indicate that Ndiema died on Monday night while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Eldoret City.
Ndiema allegedly poured petrol on Cheptegei’s body while the latter was returning from church and set her on fire.
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A witness disclosed that when Cheptegei tried to put off the fire, the accused added more petrol before eloping into a banana plantation.
The two were later admitted at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) where Cheptegei, who had sustained over 80 body burns, succumbed on September 5.
Her death, which was a case of Gender Based Violence (GBV) caught the attention of many international bodies including the United Nations (UN).
UN Secretary General Stéphane Dujarric demanded for immediate action to address GBV.
“Every 11 minutes, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member somewhere in the world. This must stop,” he noted.
The athlete, who represented Uganda in the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympic Games, left behind two children.
Cheptegei is expected to be accorded a full military burial this coming Saturday since she was a member of the Uganda People Defense Forces (UPDF).
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Rebecca Cheptegei burial plans
However, before the burial ceremony, doctors will conduct a postmortem on the body of the deceased to uncover what exactly caused her death.
Her father Joseph Cheptegei has stated that the procedure will help the family to find closure during this difficult time.
“The hospital requested us to have the postmortem done. We agreed because it will help us to know the cause of her death and it will also be part of finding closure for us,” he stated.
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