Rebecca Cheptegei and other athletes who have been killed by alleged lovers

The unfortunate news about the demise of Ugandan long-distance athlete Rebecca Cheptegei early Thursday sparked an all-too-familiar conversation in Kenya.

For yet another year, Kenya is facing public scrutiny over apparent cases of gender-based violence against female athletes.

Fresh details emerge of slain Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei's alleged lover

In the latest case, it is reported that Cheptegei, who recently competed in the marathon event at the Paris Olympic Games, was doused with petrol and set on fire by her boyfriend for what is being referred to as a tussle over property.

As per the latest report from the affected family, justice is yet to be served, as the alleged killer, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, also in hospital with 30-percent burns from the incident, has not had criminal charges pressed against him.

If that does not sound familiar in this war, maybe have a look at the following cases also involving high-profile female athletes:

Agnes Tirop

Just a month after breaking the world record in the women-only 10-kilometer road race in Germany, Kenya was shocked to hear about the death of fast-rising Tirop on Wednesday, 13 October 2021, after she was found dead at her home in Iten with stab wounds.

Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, who was missing after the incident, was later arrested and charged with murder in November 2021.

Elgeyo Marakwet County police chief Tom Makori, in an interview with the Associated Press, said they were searching for Tirop’s husband after his family reported he had called them “crying and asking for God’s forgiveness for something he had done.”

Fast forward to 2023; Rotich is now a free man having been released on cash bail on Wednesday 15 November 2023, and has not stood trial to date.

Slain Kenyan athlete Tirop's accused husband freed on bail

Damaris Mutua Muthee

Six months after Tirop’s murder, Kenyan-Bahraini athlete Damaris Mutua was found strangled in her home—the Lilies estate in Iten—and with a pillow over her face.

It is reported that the then 28-year-old, who had just placed third at a half marathon in Angola earlier that month, was allegedly killed by her Ethiopian lover, Eskinder Hailemariam Folie, who fled with her ID and bank documents.

Athletes hold peaceful protests against Gender Based Violence

It is without a doubt, given the frequency of the incidences, that femicide still has its roots in the country, and more will need to be done to address the issue either by enacting policies against the vice or through state bodies, which Cheptegei’s family has blamed for slacking despite multiple alarms.

Perhaps much more action to "deliberations and commitments" borne out of the Agnes Tirop Conference in 2022.

Sports stakeholders commit to eradicate gender based violence in sports