The man who set Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei on fire last Sunday has died from the burns he suffered during the attack on the Ugandan athlete.
Cheptegei, 33, tragically passed away in a hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, after suffering multiple organ failure. She had sustained 80% burns when her ex-boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, threw petrol on her.
Ndiema, who also sustained severe burns during the attack, was immediately taken to the hospital. Kenyan police stated that they planned to arrest him once he recovered from his injuries.
However, officials announced today that Ndiema has also died from the injuries he sustained.
A statement released by the authorities said, “Dickson Ndiema Marangach died from 30% burns he sustained when he set his girlfriend, Rebecca Cheptegei, on fire last week.”
Police believe that Ndiema got burned by the same petrol he used to set Rebecca on fire after they argued about the ownership of a piece of land they had bought together.
Neighbors in Trans Nzoia County, western Kenya, where Cheptegei had recently moved to access better training facilities, reported hearing the couple arguing loudly at her home.
According to reports, Ndiema lost control, poured petrol from a jerry can on her, and set her on fire.
When neighbors heard the noise, they rushed over to find the Olympian engulfed in flames. They tried to extinguish the fire but were unsuccessful.
Agnes Barabara, a neighbor who lives close to Cheptegei’s home, told the BBC, “When I came out, I saw Rebecca running toward my house on fire, shouting for help.”
“As I went to get water and started calling for help, her attacker came back and poured more petrol on her.”
Barabara added that she couldn’t eat for days after witnessing the horrifying incident from just a few meters away. She solemnly stated that she had never seen anyone “burned alive” before.
Rebecca Cheptegei was born in Kenya near the Uganda border but later decided to represent Uganda as her running career took off.
In 2022, she achieved gold in the mountain race at the first World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand.
She also won the Padova marathon in Italy earlier that year and finished second in the Abu Dhabi marathon, clocking a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 47 seconds – the second-fastest time ever recorded by a female Ugandan.
