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Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei dies after allegedly being set on fire by boyfriend
Johannesburg — Ugandan athletics officials said Thursday that the country’s Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei had died in a hospital in neighboring Kenya where she was being treated for burns to 80% of her body after her boyfriend allegedly doused her with gasoline and set her alight. Cheptegei, 33, died Thursday morning of organ failure four days after police said she was attacked by her partner during a dispute over land.
Cheptegi placed 44th in the marathon at the recent Paris Olympics and was well known in the marathon running world. Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said Monday that Cheptegei’s boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, had bought a jerrican of gasoline and set her alight after the disagreement on Sunday.
“The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom told Kenyan media.
AP
Both Cheptegei and Ndiema suffered burns and were brought to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, western Kenya, after neighbors reported hearing shouting and seeing fire.
“May her gentle soul rest in peace and we strongly condemn violence against women,” President of the Ugandan Olympic Committee Donald Rukare said in a social media post Thursday. “This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure.”
The Ugandan Olympic Committee called in a Thursday statement for “law enforcement agencies to take swift and decisive action to bring the perpetrator to justice for this cowardly and deplorable action.”
Two elite Kenyan runners, Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua, were both killed in the same area as Cheptegi within six months of one another by their partners.
Tirop’s death in October 2021 sparked protests, which were amplified when hundreds of athletes took to the streets of the town of Iten calling for stricter laws and gender-based outreach centers.
Tirop’s husband is on trial for the 25-year-old runner’s murder.
Kenya’s Bureau of National Statistics published a report at the beginning of 2023 that found 34% of women in the country had experienced physical violence after reaching the age of 15, with women who were or had been married almost twice as likely to report violence.
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A picture is emerging of the suspect who officials say pointed a high-powered rifle at former president Donald Trump on a Florida golf course Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was armed with an AK-47-style rifle and was 300-500 yards away from Trump when members of the former president’s Secret Service detail spotted him, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Routh was a few holes ahead of where the president was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, officials said.
Members of the Secret Service detail opened fire at Routh, according to law enforcement officials. It’s not clear if Routh fired any shots. Bradshaw said a witness saw a man jumping out of the bushes and fleeing in a black Nissan. The car was pulled over and the driver detained and identified as the suspect. Law enforcement found the rifle, a scope, two backpacks with ceramic tile and a GoPro camera in the bushes at the scene.
The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are investigating the incident, which the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
As the investigation continues, here’s what we know about Routh:
Stephany Matat / AP
A decades-long criminal history
Routh’s most recent address is listed in Hawaii, but he spent most of his life in North Carolina, according to property records. Routh owned Camp Box Honolulu, a shed-building company, according to his LinkedIn profile. The account also says that he studied at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and graduated in 1998.
Records show his problems with the law go back to the 1990s and include less serious charges, like writing bad checks. But in 2002, he was charged with a felony — possession of a weapon of mass destruction — according to North Carolina Department of Corrections records.
Between 2002 and 2010, Routh was also charged with a number of misdemeanors, including a hit-and-run accident, resisting arrest and a concealed weapons violation, records show.
Suspect criticized Trump online
Routh voted Democratic in the 2024 primary election in North Carolina, and he voted in person, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He appears to be registered as an unaffiliated voter.
His X account, which has now been suspended, included a number of posts about Trump.
“@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving,” he wrote in a June 2020 post. “I will be glad when you gone.”
He also referenced the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in multiple posts, suggesting that President Biden and Vice President Harris should visit the injured and attend the funeral of the Pennsylvania rally-goer who was killed.
A Facebook account under Routh’s name was no longer online on Sunday evening.
Ukraine supporter
Routh was passionate about fighting for Ukraine, even traveling overseas to fight in the country’s war against Russia in 2022.
“I am coming to Ukraine from Hawaii to fight for your kids and families and democracy.. I will come and die for you,” he wrote on X.
In one post on LinkedIn, he shared a photo of himself in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
A CBS News review of Routh’s social media shows his pro-Ukraine views seeped into his public statements as well. He urged people, even those who didn’t have military skills, to take up arms for Ukraine. He was interviewed by several news organizations, including The New York Times and Semafor in 2023, and Newsweek Romania in 2022. He was quoted about his efforts to recruit volunteer fighters to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, though it wasn’t clear whether he had succeeded.
“This is about good versus evil,” he told Newsweek Romania.
contributed to this report.
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