There were uncontrollable tears and wailing as thousands of mourners turned out in eastern Uganda for the funeral of Olympic marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who was set ablaze by her former boyfriend and later died.

At the solemn burial ceremony conducted on Saturday, Cheptegei was buried with full military honours with representatives the government and different arms of the country’s military formations in attendance.

Cheptegei who had participated in the road race at the Paris Olympic Games in July, was attacked by her ex-partner,
Dickson Ndiema, who doused her with petrol and set her ablaze.

She was to die four days later after the fire had consumed over 75 percent of her body. Ndiema himself who also suffered burns in the fire, died a few days later.

Local media reported that Ndiema allegedly attacked Cheptegei as she returned from church with her two daughters and younger sister in the village of Kinyoro, following a disagreement over a piece of land that belonged to her.

Cheptegei’s sporting successes include winning the 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand, and a year later earning first place in the Padova Marathon in Italy and setting a national record for the marathon.

Cheptegei’s tragic death has sparked anger over the high levels of violence against women in Kenya, particularly in the athletics community, with the marathoner becoming the third elite runner to allegedly die at the hands of a romantic partner since 2021.

Her father Joseph Cheptegei told journalists that his daughter had approached police at least three times to file complaints against Ndiema, most recently on August 30, two days before the deadly attack.

South African Rugby World Cup 2019 winner, Sibusiso Nkosi, has been slammed with a three-year ban by World Rugby after testing positive for an anabolic steroid.

His local club, Cheetahs, which made the announcement in a statement, said Nkosi’s urine sample showed traces of an anabolic steroid used by body builders and the suspension will run until July 15, 2027.

“Sbu had a World Rugby test in May and his A sample was positive. He has been banned for three years,” the club said.

Local media reports that the 28-year-old Nkosi, who understudied Cheslin Kolbe at the World Cup in Japan, is the second 2019 champion to be banned for doping with the other before fly-half Elton Jantjies who was suspended for four years last January for using a banned substance.

“Nkosi made the first of 16 international appearances in 2018 against England and won his last cap against New Zealand three years later. He scored nine Test tries,” a local sports paper said.

“He suffered mental health challenges while playing for the Bulls and disappeared for several weeks in 2022, triggering a police search, before being found at the home of a relative.

“After stints with the Sharks and Bulls, Nkosi joined the Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs last March on a one-year contract.”