NAIROBI About a month ago Rebecca Cheptegei ran 44th in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics. Last week the world was shocked by the news of Cheptegei’s death in Kenya.
Cheptegei’s death is blamed on her ex-boyfriend Dickson Ndiemaa. Ndiema allegedly poured petrol on Cheptegei and set him on fire.
Ndiema also later died from his burns.
The death of a runner is part of a wider phenomenon. Violence against women is common in Kenya. Murders are not uncommon. In January of this year alone, at least ten women were murdered in Kenya, reports a Kenyan newspaper Nation.
Between 2016 and 2023, more than 500 women were murdered in Kenya, according to a researcher who collected information from the media Africa Data Hub. The survey counted so-called femicides, i.e. murders in which a woman is victimized because of her gender.
“When they report violence, they are not believed”
Rebecca Cheptegei lived in Kenya, although she represented Uganda at the Olympics. He was too born in Kenya near the Ugandan border.
Cheptegei’s fate reflects the experiences of many other women and girls in Kenya and around the world, says the vice president of Fida, the organization of women lawyers in Kenya Janet Anyango To .
– When they report violence, they are not believed. And if they are believed, proper action is not taken, the case is not investigated and no one is arrested. And if someone is arrested, they go free without explanation, Anyango describes at the organization’s office in Nairobi.
In the video below, Anyango reflects that Cheptegei’s death was avoidable for him:
Cheptegei’s family has accused the police of not taking quick action to ensure their daughter’s safety, even though the family had raised their concerns.
– It was clear that he was in danger, Cheptegei’s father said of the Nation magazine by.
The ex-boyfriend is said to have attacked Cheptegei at her home in the small town of Endebess. Cheptegei had bought land in the area and built a house in order to be able to live near the training sites, he says British broadcasting company BBC.
According to the authorities’ report, Cheptegei and her ex-boyfriend had argued over the ownership of the plot.
The third elite runner killed
Cheptegei is the third female athlete killed in Kenya in three years.
According to the organizations, female athletes in Kenya are at risk of being abused and abused by men because of the prize money they receive, reports the Reuters news agency.
In April 2022 was killed 28 year old runner Damaris Muthee Mutua. Her boyfriend is suspected to be the perpetrator. Mutua was born in Kenya but competed for Bahrain. The boyfriend fled the country after the incident and has not been contacted, a Kenyan newspaper Star told in June.
Endurance runner in October 2021 Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death. Her husband is charged with murder. The husband has denied the charge and has been released on bail. The processing of the case is in progress.
Both women were killed in Iten, a popular training ground for endurance runners.
A lawyer helping female athletes in cases of domestic violence Sarah Ochwada describes The New Yorker magazine, that young women often end up in relationships with older athletes or coaches who offer them “protection” against other predators.
– Over time, these same patrons start abusing them, says Ochwada.
When women start making money, men want to decide about the money, the New Yorker describes.
The magazine, which made a big story about the treatment of female runners, writes that women in Kenya traditionally have little say in families. Less than two percent of properties are in women’s names alone.
According to Janet Anyango, the deputy director of FIDA, some men still think that women should not own land.
Minister: More work is needed
Kenya’s Minister of Sports Kipchumba Murkomen according to Rebecca Cheptegei’s fate is a reminder that Kenya needs to do more to curb violence against women.
About a third of Kenyan women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 have faced physical violence, according to statistics from 2022. According to the statistics, married women are especially at risk.
In recent years, the administration has made some reforms. According to Janet Anyango, vice president of the FIDA organization, in Kenya, for example, special courts have been established to deal with gender-based violence. The first such court started in March 2022 in Mombasa.
There is still a lot of work left, says Anyango.
– The police should handle cases more sensitively. They can investigate cases more and they should make timely arrests, Anyango lists as examples.
On the other hand, Anyanga hopes for a commitment to preventive work from the government.
In Kenya, athletes have also taken up work against intimate partner violence. They have founded an organization named after the slain runner Agnes Tirop.
The head of the organization Viola Cheptoo says that no one is safe until the root causes of violence are addressed.