Uganda to bury murdered Olympian Cheptegei

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Uganda on Saturday laid to rest Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who died earlier this month after her partner set her on fire in the latest incident of horrific gender-based violence in Kenya.

The 33-year-old, who debuted this summer in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics, succumbed to severe burns last week after being attacked by Dickson Ndiema Marangach.

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The brutal assault shocked the East African region and prompted a global outpouring of tributes, with activists condemning another act of gender-based violence.

Rain fell as the athlete’s body crossed the Kenya-Uganda border late Friday afternoon ahead of the funeral in the family’s village of Bukwo, some 380 kilometres (240 miles) northeast of Uganda’s capital Kampala.

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