Principal Secretary for Sports, Peter Tum, divulged that the transportation plan had been confirmed after discussions were held with Peter Ogwang, who is the Sports Minister of Uganda. However, Cheptegei died before they could see the plan through.

His statement also revealed that Cheptegei had been harmed by her former boyfriend over a property dispute. BBC reported that the ex set her alight after dousing her with petrol. According to north-west Kenyan authorities, this happened on Sunday, September 1, while Cheptegei, who competed in the Paris Olympics, was on her way home from church.

“As a federation, we want to condemn this in the strongest possible terms because this is not the way we should live,” noted Tuwei at the end of his message.

Ugandan lawyer and professor Donald Rukare took to X to pen his own statement addressing the athlete’s death.

He expressed, “We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei OLY following a vicious attack by her boyfriend. May her gentle soul rest in peace and we strongly condemn violence against women.”

The rest of his message went on to discuss how senseless and cowardly the attack was. He concluded by saying that although Cheptegei’s life has been lost, her legacy will live on.

Rukare had previously shared a tweet about Cheptegei’s ex-boyfriend’s attack on September 3. At the time, he encouraged the public to pray and hope that she would make a full recovery while she was in the hospital.

Joining Rukare in confirming the athlete’s passing is her family member, Ann, who shared a message about the tragedy on behalf of the late running star’s family.

Via a since-deleted Instagram Stories post made earlier today (September 5), Ann stated, “It has been hectic the last couple of days, we ask for your privacy as we get through this. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. We will serve you with more information as time goes by. God bless you.”

Ann then shared another post addressing those who have reached out wanting to contribute toward Cheptegei’s hospital bills and funeral expenses.

She said that people who are interested in doing so should DM the account for further engagement. RIP, dear Cheptegei. We send our prayers to her grieving loved ones.