The Paris Olympics were full of so much positivity, and I loved all of the stories of supportive partnerships and marriages within the Olympic community. There were so many boyfriends and husbands who were genuinely so proud of their Olympian partners, men who were not threatened by their partners competing in their fields and winning medals. But of course there are awful stories too, like what happened here to Ugandan distance-runner Rebecca Cheptegei. Rebecca competed at the Paris Olympics, then returned to her home in Kenya, where she lives and trains. Her (current or ex) boyfriend sneaked into her home while she was in church, then when she returned, he doused her in gasoline and set her on fire.
A Ugandan athlete who appeared in the 2024 Paris Olympics is in critical condition after reportedly being set on fire by her boyfriend in Kenya. Distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei, 33, suffered 75 percent burns on her body after her boyfriend allegedly doused her in gasoline and set her on fire at her home in Trans Nzoia County in western Kenya on Sunday, Sept. 1, police said, per the Associated Press, BBC News and ESPN.
Trans Nzoia County Police Commander, Jeremiah ole Kosiom said Monday, per the outlets, that the attack happened during a dispute between Cheptegei and her boyfriend Dickson Ndiema.
“The couple were heard quarreling outside their house,” he told journalists, per BBC. “During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her.”
Ndiema also sustained serious burns in the fire. The pair were put out by neighbors and transported to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in the nearby city of Eldoret for specialized treatment. In a report filed by the local police obtained by AP, the pair were described as having been heard arguing over the land the home was built on before the incident.
Kosiom told local outlet The Standard, “[Ndiema] is believed to have sneaked into the compound at around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday while the wife and the children were in Church. Upon returning, Dickson, who had procured petrol, began pouring it on Rebecca before he set her ablaze.”
He added to the outlet that items including “a five-liter jerrican” belonging to Dickson and “a burned mobile phone believed to be for Rebecca” were collected for forensic analysis. An investigation is ongoing, per multiple reports.
“Ndiema also sustained serious burns in the fire.” I hope he does not survive his self-inflicted injuries. I hope Rebecca gets the best treatments available and that she survives. Jesus, this story is awful. Given this detail – “he is believed to have sneaked into the compound at around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday while the wife and the children were in Church” – I genuinely believe that Ndiema was not Rebecca’s current boyfriend. This is stalker-ex behavior. This was Ndiema punishing Rebecca for breaking up with him and for being an Olympian. Toxic masculinity.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Olympic Games, Olympische Spiele, Olympia, OS Paris 2024, Olympische Spiele 2024, 26.07-10.08.2024 , Leichtathletik, Track and Field, Stade de France Paris Marathon Frauen Finale Rebecca Cheptegei Uganda *** Olympic Games Paris 2024, Olympic Games 2024, 26 07 10 08 2024 , Athletics, Track and Field, Stade de France Paris Marathon Women Final Rebecca Cheptegei Uganda,Image: 904443559, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Gladys Chai von der Laage / Avalon
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- Olympic Games, Olympische Spiele, Olympia, OS Paris 2024, Olympische Spiele 2024, 26.07-10.08.2024 , Leichtathletik, Track and Field, Stade de France Paris Marathon Frauen Finale, Rebecca Cheptegei Uganda *** Olympic Games Paris 2024, Olympic Games 2024, 26 07 10 08 2024 , Athletics, Track and Field, Stade de France Paris Marathon Womens Final, Rebecca Cheptegei Uganda,Image: 904455623, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Gladys Chai von der Laage / Avalon
Oh my god. That poor woman. I pray for her recovery and health.
I hope he lives and spends every day of his miserable life in pain and in custody. Death is too easy.
💯%
yes!!!!
Oh dear God. Burned over 75% of her body? Her chances of surviving are slim to none. I hope he burns in Hell.
I read this yesterday, even 40-50% would be life threatening too.
I hope he rots in prison, death wouldn’t be a punishment for him.
Yeah, poor thing, 75% is too much. What an awful, awful thing to happen.
She has unfortunately died. May he rot in hell. Her poor children
Sadly she has passed on
Can a person even survive 75% burns?
I hope she can pull through this and somehow recover as much as possible.
As for him, no words. I’d wish him pain and slow death, but since his injuries seems lesser than hers’, I fear whatever he’s experiencing right now because of the burns, she’s getting more of it. So no, not pain, not death. So I hope he survives, but gets the worst punishment ever for this sadistic attempted murder.
The biggest danger is infection. It will take a miracle from God to pull her through this, and if she does, she faces a long and agonizing recovery.
You can survive that with proper care, but the recovery will be very long and excruciatingly painful. And the scarring will be permanent. She needs all the strength and support in the world.
Him? I hope he dies, but not too quickly.
I am fckin incandescent with rage reading this toxic masculinity and violence against a woman. I hopes the best team of world doctors will rallye for her and provide her with everything she needs to she can get better and see the fckin guy rot and burn in forever hell. I send her my most positive energy for her and courage for the poor children.
There was a little girl in Australia who survived with 80% burns, but she was only 2 or 3 years old at the time, and they think she survived due to her young age. I really don’t think an adult woman can survive that.
Her name is Sophie de Lazioand she is just about to give birth to her first child. Miracles do happen🤗🤗
What a horrific tragedy. It sounds like she has children who may now lose their mom.
And if those children were with her at church, presumably they also returned home with her? God, I hope that those poor kids didn’t have to see what happened to their mother. I can’t think of a more evil act than burning someone alive. The only thing that could possibly make it worse is committing the act in front of the victim’s children. Hell is too good for this man.
How does a person even think of doing something like this?? Even if you are angry with someone? And you do you live with yourself afterwards? I seriously cannot comprehend this level of evil.
All I can do is prayer for you, my sister. Hopefully someone can share a link for donations. My heart breaks.
This is so sad and horrifying. At least the bastard managed to burn himself also. He didn’t expect that did he?
According to other sources, he has been her partner for the last 5 years (it does not say if he is the father of her children or not) and they assume the fight was over her moving away and building a house closer to her training facility.
I’m crying and praying so hard for this woman right now. Reading this was such a gut punch.
I hate it here. And women are attacked about why we consistently choose the bear.
People often talk about what violent people have in common and what causes it.
They discuss genes, environment, education level, social status, profession blah bllah.
The one thing that by far most violent offenders have in common is that they’re men.
Somehow people are very reluctant to talk about that (though they’re quick to call all women nasty/dumb/evil for one having RBF or giving a side eye).
If it does get brought up, you can expect this reaction; “grrr! But men are more often the victim of violent crimes!!!”
That’s true and those are mostly committed by other men as well.
People who use the term Resting Bitch Face about me quickly regret it.
🎯
I had a lecture in psychiatry residency, about violence, and the lecturer was discussing all kinds of risk factors for perpetrators—except being male.
@bisynaptic. Was the lecturer male?
Horrible! Poor woman, he wanted to destroy her and her dreams. I hope she survives this and recovers as best as possible for her and her children. I hope also that he burns in hell.
What an evil thing to do. Omg I pray for her and hope her children were not with her when this happened. Omg may this man burn in hell. The authorities need to make an example of him.
Toxic masculinity??!! This is straight up psychosis, ffs. Horrifying.
It’s not psychosis. It’s dominance behavior.
No. This is the action of a severely disturbed, mentally ill person. Period. If you can’t recognize that you’re as scary as he is.
Some societies are prone to turn a blind eye to men who abuse “their” women, thinking that his honour is somehow restored if he takes revenge for whatever. Some societies even have burning women alive as a common method. Now of course this is illegal there, but the law doesn’t really punish the perpetrators unless something really odd happens. I remember 30 years ago reading about the “exploding stoves” in Afghanistan.
Agree with Bisynaptic – psychosis is a disconnect from reality, which I don’t think is what happened here. Rather, this is a vicious man who wanted to torture and kill a woman for daring to disagree and argue with him. It is behavior that is taught or encouraged by an environment of toxic masculinity where men are more important than women and have the “right” to control them. What is scary is that it is NOT limited to those with psychotic delusions. This is cultural/environmental learning that women don’t have human rights, including to live. The common trait among terrorists and mass shooters is a hatred of women. And domestic violence. They are not all psychotic.
This is so horrific. Praying for her recovery.
What an awful thing to do. Why are men so horrible to women? I need to go read something positive. Her poor babies.
Awful – it’s pretty telling that he either brought some gasoline with him or knew exactly where it was and grabbed it before or during the argument. This wasn’t an accident; he intended to punish her in a way that would publically and physically destroy her and her livelihood.
🎯
Sadly, IPV and DV against female Olympians and Paralympians is surprisingly common.The horror historically spans cultures and countries, and given the high profile cases, there must be so many smaller, unreported incidents and experiences, ranging from emotional “punishment” inflicted (ranging from the silent treatment to verbal abuse) and unreported “minor” physical violence.
Some men cannot handle their girlfriend or spouse excelling and becoming an object of admiration and excellence in a traditonally male space, like athletics. What starts as a hobby in these men’s minds, first is just another thing they can brag about, but when a partner reaches the Olympics or Paralympics, everyone in the world knows how great they are, and they get the kind of attention that both triggers these men’s fragile masuclinity and gets them worried she might know her worth, be empowered to be more independent, and have new options in the wake of their Games … and sadly that’s a recipe for these men to want to “balance” things out.
May these women see the signs and the red flags sooner and sooner. If you have to soothe his ego, prop him up, or deal with his b.s. every time you achieve a win, see that as the red flag it is and get to stepping before its too late. Not every man can handle a great woman and, as such, they don’t deserve the opportunity. Alone in their toxicity works well for them, IMO
Great point.
Mario. You said it best—there are red flags which should not be ignored. How we treat red flags is not universal. By that, I mean some of us grew up in toxic environments or with toxic parents and family that teach you to embrace or ignore red flags.
My mother has either has the Histrionic personality disorder or is a legit Narcissist, so she needed me to advocated and conditioned me to tolerate her abuse by manipulating me into thinking her behavior was normal, although a little voice made me reject that.
However, I got into many abusive relationships and tolerated abusive behaviors because that was what I was taught. Finally, after a toxic marriage with the exact type of male you described, which almost cost me my life and a chance to be a mother, I changed. I recognized that the problem was, those red flags were rationalized away b/c I was taught to tolerate them. I finally understood that I had to shut them down immediately b/c it’s only a preview of what’s to come.
This evil man’s wound is not self inflicted. He is simply ignorant. When someone pures gasoline on a person/thing, if they are close when they light it, the gasoline will create a flare that will burn them also. Burning women is becoming too common in Africa. This is the second female athlete from Kenya I’ve heard of that has gone through this. She was a world champion. It happened last year. She died. I pray this is not the faith of this lady. I pray she recovers fully. Miracles still do happen.
Prayers for her definitely. Plus many other women. Kenyan Bureau of National Statistics reported in January 2023 that 34% of women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15. ‘It said women who had “been married are much more likely to have experienced violence”, noting that 41 percent of such women reported incidents compared to 20 percent of unmarried women.’ (CBS)
This is so horrifyingly heartbreaking and tragic! Many thoughts and prayers for her and her recovery and her family but none for him. Hopefully, justice will prevail and will be dispensed quickly. Capital punishment would be too easy of an escape and reprieve for him but what punishment could possibly fit this terrible and inhumane crime?
I hope by some miracle Rebecca lives and death is too good for that piece of human filth.
Margaret Atwood said “Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.”
Words matter. Voices matter. In the reporting on the couple killed at a nudist resort, the man is, of course, mentioned first. The only reason that Ms. Cheptegei is mentioned prominently here is because she is an Olympian. It’s also the only reason that this story is in the international press. Chillingly, it’s probably the reason that this happened.
The people who claim that women don’t need protection, that we need to start a men’s movement and interpersonal violence to often favours the woman’s perspective can get stuffed. MOST women – and LGBTQIIA people – live in fear every day; it’s just a matter of degree.
If you haven’t had to think about personal safety every minute of your life since your became sentient, if you don’t plan your travel, errands and work routes to account for it, or if you don’t understand the real fear that taking shine time away from your “partner” could be hazardous to your health, then you just don’t get it.
I pray she pulls through and recovers. I pray that she’ll get to be with her family soon. I pray that she’ll be able to run again, go to the next Olympics, and take gold. I’m sending all positive thoughts towards her that all of this will come true. Don’t tell me otherwise.
I ignore details of her particular condition, but world-class Cuban runner Ana Fidelia Quirot was able to compete again and obtain Pan-American silver right after recovering from similarly extended burns as a result of a domestic accident.
She went on to marry a loving husband, have two kids and become an IAAF official. To this day, she’s a beloved sport personality in her country.
Of course she had a whole country rooting for her, and also full government support. No expense was spared for saving her life and she got top of the line care. I hope this Ugandan Olympian gets the medical and psychological attention she needs to live a long, fulfilled life. And I hope her aggressor dies a painful, humiliating death or is left crippled for what remains of his sorry life.
Thank you. I need to know this today. Gives me hope.
Thank you for sharing this story of hope, some days it’s hard to have any when we have so many horrors all around us.
Thank you @Aurora for sharing that story. What happened to Rebecca is sickening. stomach dropping and evil. When I was 4, I was burned by liquid. It was an accident. Nothing nefarious. Spent 3 weeks in the hospital. Fortunately, one of my sibs (thank god she was home from college at the time), knew to put her young sister underneath lukewarm water. Not cold. The doctors told our parents that her knowledge may have saved me.
I had someone protecting me. I hope Rebecca is equally(if not moreso) protected, cared for and survives. And, at best, I hope her perp/boyfriend has to slide down on a razor blade into a pool of alcohol. That’s the nice thing I’ll say.
Between this and the news about the French woman whose husband drugged her and offered her unconscious body to scores of men who raped her, my rage at men is at peak levels.
Sure, #notallmen and all that B.S., but my decent husband joins me in my rage. All decent men should.
He PLANNED this. Infuriating.
Best wishes to her. 💔
🙏🙏🙏 for her. May he rot.
There’s so much misogyny in this world it breaks my heart. I hope she makes it and I hope that monster faces justice.
This is very upsetting. I hope she is able to recover from this.
This is horrible! I seriously hope she can pull through. What a weak, hateful man.
This is so, so heart breaking.
A similar crime happened last week in Chula Vista CA. Amanda Buchanan was working at a 7-Eleven when her ex-boyfriend came in, doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. Burns over 80 percent of her body and she died on Saturday.
Horrible!!
It’s just been announced that she’s passed away from her injuries.