Monday, September 9, 2024 - A neighbour has recounted the terrifying moment when renowned local athlete Rebecca Cheptegei was set ablaze by her ex-husband.
The tragic attack unfolded
outside Cheptegei’s home in Trans Nzoia County, leaving neighbours and family
devastated.
Agnes Barabara, Cheptegei’s
immediate neighbour, described the horrific scene in an emotional
interview.
"I was in the house and
heard people screaming, 'fire'. When I came out, I saw Rebecca running towards
my house on fire, shouting 'help me'," she tearfully recalled.
Ms Barabara attempted to find
water and raise the alarm, but the brutality of the attack escalated
further.
"As I went to look for
water and started calling out for help, her assailant appeared again and doused
more petrol on her. But then, he too got burned and ran off towards the garden
to try to put it out. We then went to help Rebecca," she added.
Despite their best efforts,
the injuries Cheptegei sustained proved fatal.
Her neighbour expressed the deep
emotional toll the incident had taken.
"I have never seen anyone
burn alive in my life. I didn’t eat for days after that incident," she
noted.
Described as a kind and generous
person, Cheptegei had only recently shared maize from her harvest with
Barabara.
"She was a very good
neighbour," Barabara lamented.
Local police are treating the
death as a murder and have named Cheptegei’s former partner as the primary
suspect.
The two had reportedly been
embroiled in a long-standing dispute over a small piece of land where Cheptegei
lived, a case that was awaiting resolution at the time of the attack.
The suspect, currently
hospitalized with injuries sustained during the attack, will be charged with
murder once he is released.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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