Adebayo Adenrele
Dickson Ndiema, the man accused of cruelly burning Ugandan Olympian, Rebecca Cheptegei, has died in hospital.
Ndiema, Cheptegei’s ex-boyfriend, died on Monday as a result of burns incurred during the attack on his former girlfriend over land issues.
On September 1, Ndiema was accused of dousing Cheptegei with fuel and lighting her flames as she returned home from church in western Trans Nzoia County, Nairobi.
The 33-year-old athlete died on September 5 after suffering burns on 80 percent of her body while being treated at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret City.
Ndiema received burns as a result of the incident and was sent to the hospital for treatment. His injuries were initially deemed less serious.
Cheptegei, who grew up in Kenya, competed for Uganda at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finishing 44th in the women’s marathon. She is the third elite athlete to be assassinated in Kenya in the past three years.
Agnes Tirop was discovered stabbed to death in her Iten house in 2021. The 25-year-old’s husband has also been named as a suspect in the murder.
Damaris Mutua, another Kenyan-born athlete, was discovered dead at a residence in Iten in 2022, with her then-boyfriend named as a suspect.