On Thursday (Sept. 5), Rebecca Cheptegei passed away after sustaining burns to 80 percent of her body. In a new update, the man charged with lighting her on fire, Dickson Ndiema, has also died.
Police Reportedly Planned To Charge Dickson Ndiema With Murder
According to The Washington Post, the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital confirmed Ndiema’s death on Tuesday (Sept. 10). He reportedly died on Monday night (Sept. 9) in the hospital’s intensive care unit. About 40 percent of Dickson’s body was burned after he doused Rebecca in petrol and set her on fire at her home on Sept. 1. Ultimately, the 32-year-old died from respiratory failure from severely burned airways and sepsis.
Local police had Dickson Ndiema under watch at the hospital pending murder charges, per an investigating officer’s statement to TWP. “We were waiting for him to recover for him to be charged for murder,” Officer Kennedy Apindi told TWP Post.
Additionally, at the time of his death, police were reportedly investigating Dickson for a dispute he had with Rebecca over land and house ownership.
Rebecca Cheptegei’s Father Speaks On Her Fatal Ex-Relationship
As previously reported, Rebecca died after doctors at Moi Hospital were unable to stabilize and save her. The 33-year-old ultimately passed from organ failure. Though she was from Uganda, the incident happened at her home in Kenya. She had relocated to be closer to the country’s athletic training facilities.
At the time of Dickson Ndiema’s attack, Rebecca and her two children were reportedly returning from church. Dickson had allegedly trespassed onto her compound, per details provided by Rebecca’s father, Joseph. He previously told The Washington Post that Rebecca’s two daughters, ages 9 and 11, witnessed the burn attack.
“Rebecca was coming from church with her two children, and it was just after 3 p.m.,” Joseph told TWP. “It was about to rain so they started removing the clothes from the line, and Rebecca was at the chicken house … the guy came to the chicken area with petrol and poured it on her back, when Rebecca turned around, he poured some more and lit a fire. The children saw everything, even as their mother was burning.”
Neighbors reportedly tried to out the fire by rolling her body in dirt before dunking her in a nearby water tank and transporting her to the hospital on a motorbike.
Additonally, Joseph revealed that Rebecca and Dickson had no longer been involved romantically at the time of the attack. She had allegedly reported him to the police on several occasions for domestic violence, including two days before his actions killed her. However, she was told to return on Monday (Sept. 2). Police confirmed to TWP that Rebecca launched a complaint on the Friday before her death but clarified that it was related to a land dispute.
Furthermore, Joseph revealed that Dickson also beat up Rebecca in January and wanted to cut her up before her brother intervened.
