Published on 17/09/2024
This afternoon, Parliament paid tribute to Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who was tragically murdered in Kenya by her ex-boyfriend Dickson Ndiema. Cheptegei’s death has shocked the nation and sparked calls for justice.
Cheptegei, 33, reportedly suffered burns to more than 75% of her body in the 1 September attack and died four days later. Her ex-partner, Ndiema, died days later at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, where Cheptegei was also treated before breathing her last.
Cheptegei is the third athlete to be killed in Kenya by a current or former partner, following the deaths of Kenyan long-distance runner Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed in October 2021, and Damaris Mutua, a Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete, found dead at her boyfriend’s home in 2022.
According to the order paper, the motion to honor Cheptegei will be moved by Peter Ogwang, Minister of State for Sports, and seconded by MPs Kayemba Ssolo (Bukomansimbi South County), Hope Grania Nakazibwe (Mubende District Woman Representative), Aisha Nalule Kabanda (Butambala District Woman Representative), and Sandra Santa Alum Ogwang (Oyam District Woman Representative).
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, finishing 44th, less than a month before the tragic incident. She was laid to rest in Bukwo District, where she received a military burial with a gun salute.
The Women Probono Initiative, along with women activists in Uganda, protested Cheptegei’s murder. In a statement on September 7th, 2024, they condemned the systemic negligence surrounding gender-based violence (GBV) and called attention to the epidemic of violence against women.
The group highlighted that Cheptegei’s murder was not an isolated incident, but part of a global issue, with a woman or girl killed every 11 minutes by a partner or family member, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
Uganda’s Police Annual Crime Report for 2023 painted a grim picture of GBV in the country, revealing that 14,681 cases were reported, averaging 40 cases per day.
