The body of a Ugandan Olympic athlete who was set on fire by her partner is received by family

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.

Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.

She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.

Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels - an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.

“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.

It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.

Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.

Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.

Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.

“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.

He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.

Kenya’s high rates of violence against women have prompted marches by ordinary citizens in towns and cities this year.

Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.

Activists and relatives of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei march calling for an end to femicide in the western city of Eldoret, in Rift Valley, Kenya Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Relatives and friends carry the casket of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei outside Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue in the western city of Eldoret, in Rift Valley, Kenya Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Members of the public escort a hearse carrying the coffin of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei in the western city of Eldoret, in Rift Valley, Kenya Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Relatives try to comfort a woman crying after viewing the body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue in the western city of Eldoret, in Rift Valley, Kenya Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Activists and relatives of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei march calling for an end to femicide in the western city of Eldoret, in Rift Valley, Kenya Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Relatives and friends view the body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue in the western city of Eldoret, in Rift Valley, Kenya Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

Relatives try to comfort a woman crying after viewing the body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue in the western city of Eldoret, in Rift Valley, Kenya Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Kasuku)

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Jihadis attacked a military training camp near the airport in Mali’s capital on Tuesday as explosions were heard in the area. Within hours, the government said it was temporarily closing the airport in Bamako.

A security official said there was unspecified loss of life and significant damage, without elaborating.

A sweep operation was underway after gunmen attempted to infiltrate the Faladie gendarme school, the military said in a statement. The army said the situation was under control and asked people to avoid the area.

The armed extremists who attacked the military training camp have since been neutralized, Oumar Diarra, the army chief of staff, said on national television.

Later, the military confirmed that the attack took place in “multiple locations,” without providing details.

JNIM, which is linked to al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack. Through its media arm, the website Azallaqa, the group said that it had inficted “major human and material losses” and set aircraft on fire. Militant groups often exaggerate their claims.

Earlier in the day, an Associated Press reporter heard two explosions and saw smoke rise in the distance of the camp and airport, both located on the outskirts of the city.

A security official told the AP that the attackers entered the training camp, causing a “loss of life and material damage,” but didn't provide any numbers or specifics. He said they attacked both the training camp and the military base near the airport.

At least 15 suspects were arrested, said the official, who was inside the base at the time of the attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk to reporters.

Soon after the attack, Mali's authorities closed the airport. Mohamed Ould Mamouni, communications officer at the ministry of transport, said flights were suspended indefinitely because of the exchange of gunfire that took place near it.

The U.S. Embassy in Bamako told its staff to remain at home and stay off the roads.

Mali, along with its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger, has for more than a decade battled an insurgency fought by armed groups, including some allied with al-Qaida and the Islamic State group. Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and turned to Russian mercenary units for security assistance instead.

Since taking power, Col. Assimi Goita has struggled to stave off growing attacks by the jihadis. Attacks in central and northern Mali are increasing. In July, approximately 50 Russian mercenaries in a convoy were killed in an al-Qaida ambush.

The mercenaries had been fighting mostly Tuareg rebels alongside Mali’s army when their convoy was forced to retreat into jihadi territory and ambushed south of the commune of Tinzaouaten.

Attacks in the capital of Bamako are rare, however. In 2022, gunmen struck a Malian army checkpoint about 60 kilometers (40 miles) outside the city, killing at least six people and wounding several others. In 2015, another al-Qaida linked extremist group killed at least 20 people, including one American, during an attack on a hotel in Bamako.

Tuesday's attack is significant because it showed that JNIM has the ability to stage a large-scale attack, Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, told the AP.

“It also shows once again that they are concentrating their efforts on military targets, rather than random attacks on civilian targets,” he said.

Sam Mednick reported from Goma, Congo, and Banchereau from Dakar, Senegal.

This video grab shows Malian security personnel detaining a man after Mali's army said a military training camp in the capital Bamako has been attacked early Tuesday, Sept. 17 2024. (AP Photo)

FILE - Leader of Mali's ruling junta Lt. Col. Assimi Goita, center, attends an independence day military parade in Bamako, Mali on Sept. 22, 2022. (AP Photo, File)