The ex-boyfriend accused of setting Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei on fire, killing her, has died from the injuries he sustained in the horrifying attack, according to a report.
Dickson Ndiema died at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, on Monday evening, sources from the hospital told Nation Africa.
The Olympic athlete’s estranged beau was taken into the hospital after the alleged attack and was placed in an intensive care unit with burns over 30 percent of his body.
Cheptegei was hospitalized in the same facility as Ndiema, with 80 percent of her body burned.
The Olympian died from organ failure on Thursday.
“The damage had already occurred by the time she was coming in,” Dr. Kimani Mbugua told the Kenyan news outlet The Standard last week.
“We supported her organs as best as we could, but unfortunately, it was beyond what we could do.”
She was 33.
The sadistic ex is believed to have broken into Cheptegei’s home — which she built in Kenya, near the Ugandan border — while she was attending church with her 9 and 11-year-old daughters.
Ndiema was accused of ambushing Cheptegei when she returned home, then pouring gasoline on her and lighting her on fire during a dispute over the land that she bought near the country’s athletic training center, according to Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom.
One of Cheptegei’s daughters revealed that she found her mother burning and was allegedly kicked by Ndiema as she attempted to put out the flames.
“He kicked me while I tried to run to the rescue of my mother,” the unidentified daughter told The Standard.
“I immediately cried out for help, attracting a neighbor who tried to extinguish the flames with water, but it was not possible.”
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei, early this morning, who tragically fell victim to domestic violence,” The Uganda Athletics Federation wrote on X, eulogizing the Olympic runner.
“As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest In Peace.”
Cheptegei finished in 44th place in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics last month.
The marathoner also won the Padova Marathon in Italy and finished fourth in the Abu Dhabi Marathon in 2022.
She represented Uganda in the 2011 and 2013 World Cross Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain, and Bydgoszcz, Poland.
