Ex-Boyfriend Who Set Ugandan Athlete on Fire Dies from Burns

The former boyfriend of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who set her on fire during a brutal attack, has also died from the burns he sustained.

Dickson Ndiema ambushed the marathon runner over a land dispute, doused her with petrol, and set her ablaze as she returned home from church.

Cheptegei, who had 80% of her body burned, tragically passed away last Thursday. Ndiema, who suffered over 30% burns in the attack, died on Monday at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s intensive care unit, where both had been admitted.

Police had been treating Cheptegei’s death as murder, with Ndiema as the primary suspect. The 33-year-old athlete, who represented Uganda in the Paris Olympics, is the third athlete in Kenya to die from intimate partner violence in the last three years.

Cheptegei will be laid to rest at her ancestral home in Bukwo, Uganda, on Saturday.