Mourners in Uganda pay respects to Olympic athlete whose death prompted renewed calls for more protection for women in sport
Thousands of mourners in Uganda paid their respects on Saturday to Rebecca Cheptegei, the Olympic athlete who died last week in Kenya after her partner set her on fire. The military funeral took place in a remote town near the Kenyan border.
Military officers played a prominent role in the funeral because Cheptegei held the rank of sergeant in Uganda’s army, said military spokesperson Brig Felix Kulayigye, adding that she deserved a “gun salute that befits her rank”.
Athletes, family members and others delivered their eulogies before thousands in a sport field in the district of Bukwo.
“As a nation, we are indeed in a black and dark moment,” said Ajilong B Modestar, the Bukwo resident district commissioner. “We condemn in the strongest terms the manner in which Rebecca died … We should not continue battering women in this manner.”
Cheptegei, who was 33, was buried at her father’s homestead.
