Uganda holds funeral for slain Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei
Ugandans gathered on Saturday to pay tribute to Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who tragically died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya less than a month after her return from the Paris Games. The 33-year-old succumbed to her injuries last week, sparking outrage over gender-based violence in East Africa and worldwide.
Ugandans on Saturday paid tributes to Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who died after her partner set her on fire in Kenya, ahead of her funeral in her family village.
The 33-year-old, who debuted this summer in the women's marathon at the Paris Olympics, succumbed to severe burns last week after being attacked by Kenyan Dickson Ndiema Marangach.
The brutal assault shocked the East African region and prompted a global outpouring of tributes, with activists condemning another act of gender-based violence in Kenya.
On Saturday morning, residents, officials and relatives waited in the cold morning light to pay their respects in the village of Bukwo, some 380 kilometres (240 miles) northeast of Uganda's capital Kampala.
"We are extremely saddened," said her estranged husband Simon Ayeko, with whom she had two daughters.
"As a father it has been very difficult," he told AFP, explaining he had not been able to break the news to their children.
"Slowly we will tell them the truth."
Her attacker later died from injuries sustained in the assault.
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