In a tragic turn of events, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, the man accused of dousing Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei in petrol and setting her alight, has died from burns sustained during the attack. The incident has brought heightened attention to domestic violence within Kenya’s athletic community.
Rebecca Cheptegei, 33, who competed in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, suffered severe burns covering more than 75% of her body in the attack on September 1. She passed away four days later from her injuries. Marangach, her former boyfriend, had also sustained significant burns—over 41%—from the incident. According to Philip Kirwa, chief executive officer of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, where both Marangach and Cheptegei were treated, Marangach succumbed to respiratory failure caused by severe airway burns and sepsis.
“He developed respiratory failure as a result of the severe airway burns and sepsis that led to his eventual death,” Kirwa said in a statement. The attack reportedly occurred after Cheptegei returned home from church with her children. Cheptegei’s death has cast a spotlight on the issue of domestic violence in Kenya, particularly affecting female athletes. Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, expressed his grief and frustration, stating, “This guy is dead because he killed my daughter. He has died because of his actions.”
The incident has also drawn attention from rights groups who highlight the risks faced by female athletes in Kenya. Many international runners train in Kenya’s high-altitude highlands, where they are vulnerable to exploitation and violence due to the substantial prize money they earn, which far exceeds local incomes. Viola Cheptoo, co-founder of Tirop’s Angels—a support group for survivors of domestic violence in Kenya’s athletics community—lamented that while Marangach’s death might seem like retribution, justice would have been better served if he had faced legal consequences. “Justice really would have been for him to sit in jail and think about what he had done. This is not positive news whatsoever,” Cheptoo told Reuters.
Tirop’s Angels was established in memory of Agnes Tirop, a promising Kenyan athlete who was murdered in October 2021. Tirop’s husband, Ibrahim Rotich, has been charged with her murder and has pleaded not guilty. The case remains ongoing. Domestic violence remains a critical issue in Kenya, with government data from 2022 showing that nearly 34% of Kenyan women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence. The survey indicated that 41% of married women had faced violence. Globally, a woman is killed by a family member every 11 minutes, according to a 2023 UN Women study.
Beatrice Ayikoru, secretary-general of the Uganda Olympic Committee, expressed a desire for Marangach to have faced legal justice. “I don’t wish bad things on anyone, but of course I would have loved for him to face the law as an example for others so that these attacks on women can stop,” Ayikoru told Reuters.
In other news – Mai Oliver and other 2 women remanded for community service after assault video goes viral
Three women from Nyanga, including one identified as Mai Oliver, have been remanded for community service following their appearance in court on Tuesday. The trio was sentenced to three months and two weeks of community service after being apprehended in connection with a disturbing viral video that captured a violent assault.
The video, which circulated widely on social media, showed Mai Oliver and two other women attacking another woman in a confrontation linked to accusations of infidelity. In the footage, Mai Oliver is seen accusing the victim of having an affair with her husband, known only as Baba Oliver. Read More
