00:00At this training ground in Kenya's Iten, there was a sense of relief on Tuesday.
00:07Athletes here have learned that the man accused of fatally setting fire to Ugandan marathon
00:12runner Rebecca Cheptegei had died from injuries he sustained in the attack.
00:17I think most of the people are happy now that the gentleman has passed away.
00:22Cheptegei, who competed at the Paris Olympics, had a house in Kenya where she stayed while
00:26training in the country.
00:28She died on September 5th at a hospital in the Kenyan city Eldoret, four days after the
00:34alleged attack.
00:35Her former boyfriend, Dixon Ndiema Marangach, was accused of dousing the 33-year-old in
00:41petrol and setting her on fire.
00:44On Tuesday, the hospital said he had succumbed to his injuries on Monday evening.
00:49For the death of the perpetrator, I can say.
00:52For Mildred Cherop, justice has been done.
00:56Why is that?
00:58Perhaps if he could have been alive and taken to court, perhaps the victim would not have
01:05gotten justice.
01:08Perhaps he would have raised money and get out of police cells and eventually out of
01:14jail.
01:17And at the end of it all, the victim would not have got justice.
01:23The incident has drawn focus to the issue of domestic violence in Kenya, where, according
01:28to government data, nearly 34 per cent of girls and women aged 15 to 49 have suffered
01:34physical violence.
01:36Cheptegei was the third elite sportswoman killed in the country since October 2021.
01:43Rights groups say female athletes in Kenya, where many international runners train in
01:47the high-altitude highlands, are at high risk of exploitation and violence at the hands
01:53of men drawn to their prize money.
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