Paris Mayor Renames Sports Site After Murdered Ugandan Runner

A sports facility in Paris has been renamed in honor of Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who tragically lost her life after being set on fire by her ex-boyfriend.

Cheptegei, 33, succumbed to severe injuries on Thursday, September 5, after being doused with petrol and set alight in her home on Sunday. She sustained burns on 80 percent of her body in the brutal attack, allegedly carried out by her ex-boyfriend, according to medical officials.

She was immediately taken to the intensive care unit at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya. However, Dr. Owen Menach, the acting director of the hospital, confirmed her death yesterday.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced that a sports site in the city has been renamed after Cheptegei, as a tribute to the Ugandan athlete, as reported by Le Monde. Hidalgo emphasized that Paris will not forget her, and the dedication of the sports site will ensure that her memory and legacy continue to promote the message of equality carried by the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Cheptegei, who recently competed in the Olympic marathon, finishing 44th, was admired in Paris for her beauty, strength, and freedom, qualities that Hidalgo suggested may have been intolerable to the person who committed this murder.

Kenyan police confirmed that Cheptegei was attacked at her home in Trans Nzoia County, near the Ugandan border, where she had recently moved to access better training facilities. According to Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom, her former partner, Dickson Ndiema, purchased petrol, poured it on her, and set her ablaze during an argument on Sunday.

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At the crime scene, police found a five-litre jerry can, a bag, and a burned phone, according to reports from the Kenyan newspaper *The Nation*. Dr. Menach informed the Kenyan press that despite all efforts, they lost Cheptegei after all her organs failed.

Paris Mayor Renames Sports Site After Murdered Ugandan Runner

Donald Rukare, President of the Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC), expressed his sorrow over Cheptegei’s passing on X, describing the attack as a “cowardly and senseless act” that took the life of a remarkable athlete. He emphasized that her legacy will endure. The UOC later released a statement urging law enforcement to take swift action to bring the perpetrator to justice.

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Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, also mourned the loss, noting that the sport had lost a talented and versatile runner under the most tragic circumstances.

Earlier this week, Cheptegei’s father, Joseph Cheptegei, speaking from the hospital where he was with his other daughter Evalyne Chelagat, revealed that the alleged attack was linked to a dispute over land in Endebes, Trans Nzoia. He also mentioned that Cheptegei’s two children were fathered by a different man living in Uganda. He claimed that although Cheptegei and Ndiema had been separated for some time, her ex-boyfriend allegedly sneaked into her home to carry out the attack, which is now under investigation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kenya.