Outrage and sorrow greeted the death on Thursday of Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who succumbed to severe burns after being doused with petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend.
It was the latest horrific act of gender-based violence in Kenya where activists have warned of a rising femicide epidemic.
Cheptegei’s death has been described as “senseless” and “a despicable crime”.
The 33-year-old long-distance runner died at about 5.30am , the doctor treating her at a hospital in Eldoret in western Kenya said.
“Her injuries were extensive and covered most parts of her body. It led to multiple organ failure,” said Kimani Mbugua, head of the intensive care unit at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Police have said the man who carried out the attack in her home in Endebess, in the western county of Trans-Nzoia, was a Kenyan man identified as Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach. Kenyan media reports said her two young daughters had witnessed the brutal assault.
It took place just weeks after Cheptegei had made her Olympic debut in the women’s marathon at the Paris Games, where she finished 44th.
Marangach was also injured in the incident, sustaining 30% burns.
Figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics published in January 2023 found that 34% of women had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.