Ugandan athlete in Kenyan hospital after being doused in petrol

Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei is in a critical condition in a Kenyan hospital, after allegedly being doused with petrol and set on fire by a former boyfriend.

The 33-year-old marathon runner, who competed at the recent Paris Olympics, had suffered extensive burns, the doctor treating her said.

She was attacked at her home in western Kenya, where she had been training.

There are concerns about the increasing cases of violence against female athletes in Kenya, some of which have resulted in death.

Ms Cheptegei is said to have been rescued by neighbours after the incident that happened on Sunday at her home in the small town of Endebess.

She was returning from church with her two children when she was targeted.

The alleged attacker also sustained serious burns, local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom told journalists.

“The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” Mr Kosiom was quoted as saying.

Ms Cheptegei, from a region just across the border in Uganda, is said to have bought a piece of land in Trans Nzoia county and built a house, to be near Kenya’s many athletic training centres.

A report filed by a local administrator said the two had been wrangling over the piece of land. Police say an investigation is under way.

The two are being treated at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, the main town in the region.

The hospital’s senior director of clinical services Dr Owen Benach told journalists that “a high-profile patient” had been “fully sedated because of the extent of the burns”. He said the hospital was well-equipped to deal with the difficult situation that both patients were in.

Talking to reporters, Ms Cheptegei’s father, Joseph Cheptegei, said that he prayed “for justice for my daughter”.

Ms Cheptegei finished 44th in the marathon at the recent Paris Olympics.

She also won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.

In April 2022, another female runner, Damaris Mutua, was found strangled in a home with a pillow over her face in the Rift Valley town of Iten.

It came months after record-breaking long-distance runner Agnes Tirop was found stabbed to death in the same town.

In both cases, their partners have been identified by the authorities as the main suspects.

Ms Tirop’s husband is currently facing murder charges, which he denies, while a search for Ms Mutua’s boyfriend continues.

Men have also been targeted.

Last December, another Ugandan athlete, Benjamin Kiplagat was stabbed to death by assailants in Eldoret.

Additional reporting by the BBC’s Celestine Karoney.