Ex-partner who killed Ugandan athlete dies from burns
The former boyfriend of Ugandan Olympic athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei, who killed her by setting her on fire has himself died from burns sustained in the attack, a Kenyan hospital official has said.
Dickson Ndiema ambushed the marathon runner as she returned home from church more than a week ago. He then doused her with petrol and set her ablaze.
Local administrators said the two had been in conflict over a small piece of land in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained.
Ndiema died on Monday night at the intensive care unit, where according to the hospital, he had been admitted with burns on more than 40per cent of his body.
“He developed respiratory failure as a result of the severe airway burns and sepsis that led to his eventual death on Monday evening,” a press release from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital said.
Cheptegei died last Thursday – four days after she was attacked. She suffered burns to more than 80per cent of her body.
Neighbours said that on the day of the attack, they heard screams before Cheptegei came running towards them shouting for help.
Local media reported that Ndiema had sneaked into Cheptegei’s home in western Kenya’s Trans Nzoia county with a five-litre jerry can full of petrol.
Ndiema was to face charges as police said they were treating Cheptegei’s death as murder, with the former boyfriend named as the main suspect.
But now that Ndiema has died, the criminal case has been dropped and an inquest into the two deaths will be opened instead.
Both Ndiema and Cheptegei were admitted to Moi Hospital before their deaths.
Cheptegei’s death shocked people across the world, with fellow Ugandans saying she was an inspiration to them.
The 33-year-old Olympian was the third athlete to be killed in Kenya over the last three years. In each case, current or former romantic partners were named as the main suspects by police. —BBC
