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NAIROBI — Kenya’s athletics community is grappling with cases of domestic violence against female athletes. Recent deaths and injuries at the hands of abusive partners have amplified demands for justice, and calls for authorities to curb the worrying trend.
Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, 33, this week succumbed to injuries sustained after her former boyfriend allegedly doused her in petrol and set her on fire. The incident took place at her home in Endebess, western Kenya. Her alleged killer, a Kenyan man called Dickson Ndiema Marangach, was taken to hospital with burns from the incident. He is yet to face criminal charges.
According to Cheptegei’s family, she had been troubled for months before her death. They blamed the police for failing to take action early, saying they filed a report when Ndiema followed her on a trip to Uganda.
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Cheptegei’s tragedy was the latest in a growing list of deadly cases of domestic violence against female athletes in the country. In October 2021, star distance runner Agnes Tirop was killed in Iten, a high-altitude athletics training hub in western Kenya. She broke the world 10 kilometer women’s record just a month before her death. Her husband Ibrahim Rotich was eventually arrested and charged with murder. The case is yet to be concluded, with Rotich out on bail since November last year.
Just six months after Tirop’s death, another gruesome death rocked the athletics community. Kenyan-born runner Damaris Muthee, who competed for Bahrain, was found dead in a house in Iten after being strangled. Police launched a manhunt for her alleged killer, her Ethiopian partner Eskinder Hailemariam Folie, who allegedly fled with her ID and bank documents.
Other Kenyan female runners, including Ruth Bosibori and Joan Chelimo, have come out publicly to reveal that they escaped abusive relationships.
Martin’s view
The financial success of top women athletes on the world stage makes them especially vulnerable to abusive partners looking to control their funds, careers and assets, experts have warned.
“Some partners want to be in charge of athletes’ winnings, sponsorships, where they go and what they do, and this entitlement causes conflicts,” Nairobi-based psychologist Millicent Gathoni told Semafor Africa. She stressed that sports federations needed to offer relevant support to athletes to help them better navigate their careers.
Despite these murders of female athletes in Kenya in recent years, not a single conviction has so far been secured against the killers. Securing justice for innocent victims of domestic violence is key to curbing this tragic trend.
But it’s also important to note this is not just about athletics or jealousy over finances. It is a much deeper, troubling issue in Kenyan society. The country has been struggling with a broader femicide problem over the past year after a number of high profile reports of brutal murders. In January, thousands of Kenyan women took to the streets in “#EndFemicideKE” protests following several reported cases of young women being killed by their partners.
Kenya’s sports cabinet secretary Kipchumba Murkomen warned of the worrying trend in a statement issued after Cheptegei’s death. “This tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to combat gender-based violence in our society, which in recent years has reared its ugly head in elite sporting circles,” he said.