A neighbour living near Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has come out to explain the horrific fire incident that happened to the athlete when her kenyan boyfriend torched her.
Agnes Barabara, Cheptegei’s immediate neighbour, in an interview with BBC has explained that she was the first respondent when the Ugandan athlete was set on fire with her kenyan ex boyfriend.
“I was in the house and heard people screaming, ‘fire’. When I came out, I saw Rebecca running towards my house on fire, shouting ‘help me’,” Agnes narrated while in tears.
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On seeing her neighbour on fire, Agnes rushed to raise alarm and collect water in a bid to save her, the ex boyfriend appeared again and doused more petrol on her and that’s when he was also burnt in the process.
“As I went to look for water and started calling out for help, her assailant appeared again and doused more petrol on her. But then, he too got burned and ran off towards the garden to try to put it out. We then went to help Rebecca.”
Despite their best efforts, the injuries Cheptegei sustained proved fatal and as the doctors revealed, the burns covered 85% of her body leading to her death at Eldoret Hospital.
“I have never seen anyone burn alive in my life. I didn’t eat for days after that incident. She was a very good neighbour,” Agnes narrated as emotional tears rolled down her cheeks.
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The two had reportedly been embroiled in a long-standing dispute over a small piece of land where Cheptegei lived, a case that was awaiting resolution at the time of the attack.