Father of Olympic Marathoner Rebecca Cheptegei Calls for Justice After She's Killed in Gasoline Attack

Mar. 15, 2025

The father of Rebecca Cheptegei is speaking out in the wake of the Ugandan Olympian’s tragic killing.

“I have a lot of grief because I’ve lost my daughter,” Joseph Cheptegeitold reporters at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Kenyaon Thursday, Sept. 5, where the long-distance runner died. “I seek your help so that this person who has killed my daughter can be prosecuted.”

Cheptegei, 33, died from “full organ failure,” four days after her former partner Dickson Ndiema allegedly doused her with gasoline and set her on fire at her home in Trans Nzoia County in western Kenya, authorities said.

The athlete suffered burns to almost 80% of her body in the attack, in which Ndiema was also seriously injured.

Rebecca Cheptegei.STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

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“As it is now, the criminal who harmed my daughter is a murderer and I am yet to see what the security officials are doing,” the father said, regarding Ndiema. “He is still free and might even flee.”

Rebecca Cheptegei, center in a yellow top, at the 2023 World Athletics Championships.Jiang Qiming/China News Service/VCG via Getty

Jiang Qiming/China News Service/VCG via Getty

The long-distance runner had just returned from church with her daughters on Sunday, Sept. 1 and was heard arguing with Ndiema about land on which she had built a home at the time of the incident,ABC News reported.

Cheptegei, the mother of two young daughters, competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, where she finished in 44th place with a season’s best time of 2:32:14. Her previous best marathon time was in December 2022, when she ran 2:22.47 at the Abu Dhabi Marathon.

Rebecca Cheptegei.FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty

FERENC ISZA/AFP via Getty

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com