TW: Violence against women
"We say gender based violence, but by whom?"
This question echoes louder than ever before with the death of 33-year-old Rebecca Cheptegei, an Olympic athlete who was murdered after being set on fire by a former partner over an alleged land dispute on Sunday, 1st September.
Cheptegei was admitted at a hospital in Eldoret, a town where she lived and had been training with other athletes. Having suffered high degree burns with 75% of her body covered in severe wounds, she succumbed to multiple organ failure and eventually died.
Cheptegei’s death has sparked rage amongst several women in Uganda who have taken to both Instagram and Twitter to call out actions of femicide on the continent. One user on Instagram wrote, “May our anger fire up to condemn such violence and never to shield the attackers."
According to Larry Madowo, a CNN reporter based in Kenya, Rebecca Cheptegei is not the first global female athlete to die as a result of domestic violence in Kenya.
In 2021, Agnes Tirop, another Olympic athlete, was stabbed to death in her own house and the key suspect in the case was her husband. Six months later, Damaris Mutua, another athlete, was found suffocated by a pillow in her own house and once again, the suspect was her boyfriend.
Like many domestic violence incidents, the victims are rarely believed at first. Cheptegei’s family is said to have reported Dickson Ndiema to the authorities several times and they were met with inaction.
On January 27th, thousands of Kenyan women protested in the streets, calling for an end to femicide. These nationwide demonstrations against gender-based violence were the biggest to have taken place in the nation's history. One of the key demands in this protest was action against femicide and justice for the victims.
However, actionable change against femicide is yet to be achieved. Women are yet to be safe on the streets, at school, on the bus and even at home.
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