UN condemns 'violent' death of athlete Rebecca Cheptegei

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 GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 

The United Nations has said the death of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei linked to domestic violence "illustrates a much bigger problem that is all too often ignored".

Mother of two Cheptegei, 33, succumbed to injuries after she was reportedly set on fire by her ex-boyfriend.

The Kenya-based lond-distance runner, who competed at the just concluded Paris Olympic Games last month, died Thursday morning at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret after being attacked Sunday evening.

Her tragic death has drawn global attention back to the safety of females against domestic abuse.

"Every 11 minutes on average, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member somewhere in the world," Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told a briefing in New York on Thursday.

▪️  Ugandan athlete Cheptegei dies after being set on fire

Stephane Dujarric is seen here during a press conference at the UN in New York on June 24, 2024

"That’s according to figures released by our colleagues at UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). We, of course, think that the true numbers are much higher," he added.

"So if this briefing lasts half an hour, on average, three women have become victims of femicide while we are talking.

"Today we join the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women in strongly condemning her [Cheptegei's] violent murder," said Dujarric.

"Gender-based violence is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world, and should be treated as such.

"As the Secretary-General [António Guterres] once said, we still live in a male-dominated culture that leaves women vulnerable by denying them equality in dignity and rights. 

"We all pay the price: our societies are less peaceful, our economies less prosperous and our world less just. But a different world is possible," added Dujarric.

▪️  Kenyan govt vows justice for late Rebecca Cheptegei

Rebecca Cheptegei applies an ice bag on her head as she competes in the women's marathon of the athletics event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on August 11, 2024

'Versatile runner'

Meanwhile, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe paid tribute to the late Cheptegei, describing her as a "talented athlete" whose life has been cut short "in the most tragic and unthinkable circumstances".

Coe said the Ugandan athlete was "an incredibly versatile runner who still had lots left to give on the roads, mountains and cross country trails".

He said he has been "in touch with our council members in Africa to see how we can help".

The Kenyan government has also vowed to bring justice for the late Cheptegei, who placed 44th in the Olympics marathon in the French capital Paris only four weeks ago.

Latest figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics published in January 2023 found that 34 per cent of women in the Kenya had experienced physical violence since the age of 15.

The Ugandan sporting fraternity is mourning Cheptegei's death.

"Rebecca is a talent lost young," says Uganda Athletics Federation general secretary Beatrice Ayikoru.

▪️  Tributes pour in after athlete Cheptegei's death

'Deeply disturbing'

Uganda's First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, described Cheptegei's tragic end as "deeply disturbing".

"My heartfelt condolences go out to the athletics community, her family, friends, and the entire nation on the loss of our Olympian. May her family find the strength to cope with this loss and may her soul rest in eternal peace," she wrote on social media platform X.

 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW 

▪️ Rebecca Cheptegei took part in marathon, cross-country and mountain running. She made her marathon debut in 2021

▪️ She won gold at the 2022 World Mountain Running Championships in Thailand

▪️ She finished in 14th place in the marathon of the 2023 World Athletics Championships

▪️ Her father Joseph described Cheptegei's attacker as an "animal" who tormented her for months before setting her ablaze

▪️ Trans Nzoia County Police commander Jeremiah Ole Kosiom confirmed that the Ugandan athlete and the suspect had wrangles over a plot of land in Kinyoro

▪️ The Olympian had two daughters, aged nine and 11, with a Ugandan man