As she was also a member of Uganda’s armed forces, soldiers carried the coffin and she was given a three-volley salute.

Dickson Ndiema attacked Cheptegei with petrol just under a fortnight ago outside her home in neighbouring north-west Kenya, close to where she trained.

The 33-year-old’s killing, and its brutal nature, left her family distraught and shocked many others across the world.

EPA: Rebecca Cheptegei’s last race was at the Paris Olympics

It underscored the high levels of violence against women in Kenya and the fact that several female athletes have been victims in recent years.

Among those at the sombre and emotional funeral ceremony in a school field in Bukwo, Cheptegei’s home district, were fellow athletes wearing black T-shirts with the slogan “say no to gender-based violence”.

“We are guilty as [a] government, but also the community is guilty,” Kenya’s Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Kipchumba Murkomen told mourners.

“Let us say the truth. It is not true that we did not know even in the local community that Rebecca was facing family problems.”

Cheptegei and Ndiema had reportedly been wrangling over a piece of land.

One of her teammates at the recent Paris Olympics, Stella Chesang, also spoke.

“It is really a sad moment in Uganda… and all of us friends. As a team who we went to Paris with Rebecca, we really felt it because… we were together, enjoying together and it is really sad,” she said.

The Olympic marathon – in which she came 44th – was Cheptegei’s last race.

Peter Njoroge / BBC

Cheptegei’s two daughters, Charity and Joy, are at the funeral

Earlier, with her coffin on display and draped in the Ugandan flag, local leaders held a memorial service.

They observed a moment of silence and gave a standing ovation as they paid their respects to the late athlete.

Councillors said Cheptegei lived “a simple and focused life” and always offered guidance to her fellow athletes. “She inspired many children in the area to join athletics,” one said.

They also proposed to name a road and a local sports venue in her honour.

Peter Njoroge / BBC

Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, and mother, Agnes, remember a kind-hearted child who became the breadwinner for the extended family

Cheptegei died in hospital four days after the attack. Doctors said she had suffered burns on more than 80% of her body which “led to multi-organ failure”.

Ndiema, who was also burned after some of the fuel splashed on his own body, died on Monday.

He attacked the mother-of-two after she returned from a service at a church, the God’s Dwelling Ministry.

The pastor there, Caroline Atieno, remembers a “wonderful… God-fearing person”.

After hearing about what had happened, she managed to speak to Cheptegei on the phone while she was in hospital.

The athlete first asked about her children, who were both fine, the pastor told the BBC’s Africa Daily podcast.

Then Cheptegei talked about her attacker: “You mean Dickson is not able to see all I have done for him? He could not remember even one or two things I have done for him and stop setting me on fire? Why has he done this to me?”

Peter Njoroge / BBC

As a solider in the Ugandan armed forces, Cheptegei was given military honours

On Friday, family members, friends and activists against gender-based violence viewed her coffin at a funeral home in the Kenyan town of Eldoret, before it was driven away.

Her mother, Agnes Cheptegei, covering her face in anguish, was wearing a souvenir bag that the athlete received at the recent Olympics.

She was dressed in a T-shirt which had the slogan “being a woman should not be a death sentence” printed on it.

The mother-of-two was the third female athlete to be killed in Kenya over the last three years. In each case, current or former romantic partners were named as the main suspects by police.

In 2021, world-record holder Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death and six months later Damaris Mutua was strangled.

Attacks on women have become a major concern in Kenya. In 2022 at least 34% of women said they had experienced physical violence, according to a national survey.

Some observers are saying that female athletes are becoming increasingly vulnerable.

“[This is] because they go against traditional gender norms where the woman is just in the kitchen and just cooking and taking care of kids. But now female athletes are becoming more independent, financially independent,” said Joan Chelimo, who co-founded Tirop’s Angels to help highlight the issue of violence against women.

“We don’t want this to happen to any other woman, whether an athlete or from the village, or a young girl,” Rachel Kamweru, a spokesperson of the government’s department for gender and affirmative action, told the BBC.

When Cheptegei first got into running, she joined the Uganda People’s Defence Forces in 2008 which helped support her.

Her last race was at the Paris Olympics. Although she came 44th people in her home area still referred to her as “champion”.

She won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.

Dickson Ndiema ambushed the marathon runner as she returned home from church more than a week ago, before dousing her with petrol and setting her ablaze.

Local administrators said the two had been in conflict over a small piece of land in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained.

Ndiema died on Monday night at the intensive care unit where he had been admitted with more than 30% burns on his body.

“It’s true he has died from the [burn] injuries,” Dr Owen Menach from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in the town of Eldoret told the BBC.

Ms Cheptegei died last Thursday from 80% burns she sustained during the attack four days earlier.

Neighbours told the BBC that they heard screams before Cheptegei came running towards them shouting for help.

Ndiema was to face charges as police said they were treating Cheptegei’s death as murder, with the former boyfriend named as the main suspect.

Both of them were admitted to Moi Hospital before their deaths.

The 33-year-old Olympian was the third athlete to be killed in Kenya in the last three years, where intimate partners were named as the main suspects by police.

In 2021, world-record holder Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death and six months later Damaris Mutua was strangled.

Cheptegei was born on the Kenyan side of the Kenya-Uganda border, but chose to cross over and represent Uganda to chase her athletics dream when she did not get a breakthrough in Kenya.

When she started getting into running, she joined the Uganda People’s Defence Forces in 2008 and rose to sergeant rank.

Her career included competing in this year’s Paris Olympics. Although she came 44th in the marathon, people in her home area called her “champion”.

Cheptegei is set to be buried on Saturday at her ancestral home in Bukwo, Uganda.

Attacks on women have become a major concern in Kenya. In 2022 at least 34% of women said they had experienced physical violence, according to a national survey.

The 33-year-old Ugandan marathon runner, who competed in Paris, had suffered extensive burns after Sunday’s attack, the doctor treating her had said.

The authorities in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained, said she was targeted after returning home from church.

A report filed by a local administrator alleged the athlete and her ex-partner had been wrangling over a piece of land. Police say an investigation is under way.

There are concerns about the increasing cases of violence against female athletes in Kenya, several of which have resulted in death.

“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei early this morning who tragically fell victim to domestic violence. As a federation, we condemn such acts and call for justice. May her soul rest In Peace,” Uganda’s athletics federation said in a post on X.

The family is yet to confirm her death but Dr Owen Menach, the head of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, where she had been admitted, told local media that the athlete had died after all her organs failed.

Cheptegei’s former boyfriend was also admitted to the hospital – but with less severe burns.

“The couple were heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her,” local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom was quoted by local media as saying.

Ms Cheptegei, from a region just across the border in Uganda, is said to have bought a piece of land in Trans Nzoia county and built a house, to be near Kenya’s many athletic training centres.

“This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure,” the head of Uganda’s Olympic committee Donald Rukare said on X.

Talking to reporters, earlier in the week her father, Joseph Cheptegei, said that he prayed “for justice for my daughter”, adding that he had never seen such an inhumane act in his life.

Cheptegei finished 44th in the marathon at the recent Paris Olympics.

She also won gold at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2022.

Her death comes two years after the killings of fellow East African athletes Agnes Tirop and Damaris Mutua, with their partners identified as the main suspects in both cases by the authorities.

Tirop’s husband is currently facing murder charges, which he denies, while a hunt for Mutua’s boyfriend continues.

Ugandan athlete Rebecca Cheptegei is in a critical condition in a Kenyan hospital, after allegedly being doused with petrol and set on fire by a former boyfriend.

The 33-year-old marathon runner, who competed at the recent Paris Olympics, had suffered extensive burns, the doctor treating her said.

She was attacked at her home in western Kenya, where she had been training.

There are concerns about the increasing cases of violence against female athletes in Kenya, some of which have resulted in death.