Rebecca Cheptegei Case: Ex Accused of Setting Olympian on Fire Dies From Injuries Sustained in Attack

Rebecca Cheptegei’s accused attacker has died, just days after she succumbed to her injuries.

Dickson Ndiema, the Olympian’s former partner who allegedly set her on fire in a gasoline attack over a land dispute, had been taken to a hospital in western Kenya alongside Rebecca.  

However, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital spokesperson Daniel Lang’at, told Reuters Sept. 9, per NBC News, “He died from his injuries, the burns he sustained.”

Dickson had sustained burns to 30 percent of his body, NBC News reported citing local media outlets, after attacking Rebecca as she returned home from church to her Kenyan home with her two children.

E! News has reached out to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital as well as authorities for comment but has noy yet heard back.

His death comes just four days after Rebecca, who competed in the marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympics earlier this summer, died at the age of 33 from complete organ failure due to the injuries she sustained in the attack. Following the incident, police chief Jeremiah Ole Kosiom told reporters, per the BBC, that the marathon runner suffered burns on at least 75 percent of her body in addition to inhalation burns.

“The couple were heard quarreling outside their house,” Jeremiah told journalists. “During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her.”

A professional athlete from Uganda, Rebecca’s parents said their daughter had bought land in Kenya’s Trans Nzoia county to be closer to the county’s athletic training centers, according to the Los Angeles Times. Rebecca and Dickson were heard fighting over the land where her house was built before the attack, the outlet added, citing a report filed by the local police chief.

The attack on Rebecca and her subsequent death have further ignited voices against gender-based violence in Kenya, as the Ugandan athlete’s death comes amid ongoing instances of domestic violence.

“The incident that happened to our athlete from Uganda is really unfortunate and sad because you can’t harm somebody due to disagreements about property, especially from a partner,” Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei said, per The Nation. “As a federation, we condemn this in the strongest terms possible because that is not how we are supposed to live."

Kenya’s Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen shared similar sentiments.

“This tragedy,” he shared in a written statement, per the LA Times, “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.”