Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei was killed in a gasoline attack on Thursday, September 5, in Kenya. She was just 33 years old. The commander of the Trans Nzoia County Police told The New York Times they are planning to charge Dickson Ndeima, Cheptegei’s former boyfriend, with murder after he set her on fire earlier this week.
Before we discuss her abhorrent death, it’s essential to celebrate her legacy and achievements. Cheptegei represented Uganda for over 15 years in multiple international races and meets. The most recent Paris Games were Cheptegei’s first Olympics, where she qualified after completing the Abu Dhabi marathon in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 47 seconds. In that race, she set a Ugandan record.
Even though she only began running marathons in 2021, Cheptegei was still far from the end of her running career. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said, “Rebecca was an incredibly versatile runner who still had lots left to give on the roads, mountains and cross-country trails.”
Cheptegei is not the first high-profile African athlete to be killed in the past four years. Agnes Jebet Tirop, a world-record-holding 10km runner, was stabbed to death by her husband in her home in 2021. Damaris Muthee Mutua, a Kenyan runner, was found strangled in Iten, Kenya, in 2022.
A United Nations study found that Africa has the highest levels of femicide (when the killing of a woman or girl is based on gender) out of any other continent in 2022, estimating that 20,000 women and girls were killed that year alone.
Violence against women is not a uniquely African problem. Still, Cheptegei’s murder is yet another grave reminder that femicide is an issue that needs to be taken infinitely more seriously. Even in media coverage of her killing, many headlines discuss her “death” or her “dying,” but not her murder. And let’s be clear: she was killed. She didn’t spontaneously combust or self-immolate. This was a targeted, intentional attack. She died because Ndeima set her on fire, burning 80% of her body (not including inhalation burns) and causing her organs to fail.
It’s 2024. I would hope we all know violence against women is bad. Some of the ways to protect women are largely out of our hands, like writing policies or using the justice system to prosecute perpetrators who harm women. But one thing we can all do is use language that accurately describes the pain and horror women (and especially Black women) go through in cases like this. Cheptegei didn’t “die” from a gasoline attack. She died because she got into an argument with her boyfriend, and he decided that was enough means to murder her. To act like the force behind her death was passive instead of cruel and calculated is one of the greatest injustices we could commit against Cheptegei.
I hope that Cheptegei’s killing will reignite movements to curb femicide across the world. While we can’t bring her back, we can use the strength and resilience she demonstrated on the track to ensure violence against women is dealt with seriously and sincerely.
Rest in Peace, Rebecca Cheptegei. Your death will not be in vain.
