UN condemns ‘tragic death’ of Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei

Many successful runners come out of Eldoret in Kenya. © Unsplash-Justin Lagat

5 September 2024 - The United Nations has mourned the loss of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who died at a hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, on Thursday, just days after reportedly being set on fire by a boyfriend. 

The 33-year-old marathon runner, who lived and trained in northwest Kenya, competed in the recent Olympic Games in Paris.  

Rebecca Cheptegei, a  beautiful & brave life has been violently ended by a former boyfriend. From X port by Winnie Biyanima.

During a disagreement on Sunday, Ms. Cheptegei’s boyfriend doused her in petrol and set her alight, causing burns across 80 per cent of her body, according to media reports.

A global problem

“Today we join the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women in strongly condemning her violent murder,” Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, told journalists in New York.

Mr. Dujarric used his daily media briefing to focus attention on this "tragic death", saying it "illustrates a much bigger problem that is all too often ignored.”

Citing figures from UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), he said that every 11 minutes on average, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member somewhere in the world.

“We, of course, think that the true numbers are much higher,” he said.

“So, if this briefing lasts half an hour, on average, three women have become victims of femicide while we are talking.”

‘A different world is possible’

Mr. Dujarric said gender-based violence (GBV) is one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world, and should be treated as such.

“As the Secretary-General once said, we still live in a male-dominated culture that leaves women vulnerable by denying them equality in dignity and rights. We all pay the price: our societies are less peaceful, our economies less prosperous and our world less just. But a different world is possible,” he concluded.

End gender-based violence

The head of the UN agency leading global efforts to end AIDS took to social media to voice her condemnation.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, who is from Uganda, urged everyone to “rise and end GBV”, stating that “silence is complicity.” 

In mourning the loss of “our national star Olympian”, she also condemned “the culture of male domination & tolerance of violence against women and men and children”.  

In a separate post, Ms. Byanyima recalled that the athlete ran "to feed her children, to take care of her parents and pay for education of nieces & nephews". - UN News