The United Nations (UN) has issued a statement over the death of Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei who succumbed to injuries after her boyfriend allegedly doused her with gasoline and set her on fire.
Stéphane Dujarric, the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres has condemned the rising tide of femicide in Kenya following the tragic death of the Ugandan Olympian and marathoner.
Cheptegei, who competed in the Paris 2024 Olympics, succumbed to severe burns on Thursday following the brutal gasoline attack that happened in Trans Nzoia County.
During a disagreement that took place on Sunday, September 1, the 33-year-old marathon runner’s boyfriend doused her in petrol and set her on fire, causing burns across 80 per cent of her body.
Cheptegei’s death has ignited a global outcry, with UN officials and women’s rights advocates calling for immediate action to address gender-based violence (GBV) in Kenya and beyond.
Dujarric highlighted the gravity of the issue during a briefing in New York, calling the athlete’s murder a “tragic death” and adding that it “illustrates a much bigger problem that is all too often ignored.”
“Today, we join the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women in strongly condemning her violent murder,” Dujarric said in his daily press briefing.
Citing figures from UN Women and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), he said that every 11 minutes on average, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member somewhere in the world.
UN Condemns Death of Rebecca Cheptegei
The UN Secretary-General Spokesperson further stressed that gender violence is one of the most frequent human rights violations.
“Every 11 minutes, a woman or girl is killed by an intimate partner or family member somewhere in the world. This must stop. So, if this briefing lasts half an hour, on average, three women have become victims of femicide while we are talking,” he said.
“As the Secretary General once said, we live in a male-dominated culture that abandons vulnerable women by denying them equality, dignity and rights. We all pay the price: our societies are less peaceful, our economies less prosperous and our world less just.”
Also Read: Ugandan Athlete Rebecca Cheptegei Doused in Petrol Dies
Furthermore, he added that, due to gender violence, societies are “less peaceful,” the economy “less prosperous,” and the world “less fair”, pointing out that a different world is possible.
The Executive Director of the UN agency leading global efforts to end AIDS (UNAIDS) Winnie Byanyima, also took to social media to voice her condemnation.
UNAIDS Director Speaks
Byanyima, who is from Uganda, urged everyone to “rise and end GBV”, stating that “silence is complicity.”
Also Read: Family of Ugandan Athlete Doused in Petrol Speaks, Reveals Cause of Wrangles
In mourning the loss of Cheptegei who she hailed as Uganda’s national star Olympian, she also condemned “the culture of male domination & tolerance of violence against women and men and children”.
In a separate post, Byanyima recalled that the athlete ran “to feed her children, to take care of her parents and pay for education of nieces & nephews”.
Cheptegei died at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret (MTRH) early Thursday where she was admitted last Sunday to the Intensive Care Unit with burns on 80% of her body after an alleged attack by her partner.
The athlete, who has been competing in races since 2010, participated in the women’s marathon event at the last Olympic Games in Paris, where she finished in forty-fourth position.
Previously, she won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.
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