Tragic Loss: Olympic Athlete Cheptegei Passes Away After Severe Burns and Organ Failure
Dr. Owen Menach, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and Director of Clinical Services and Surgery at the same facility, says Rebecca Cheptegei tragically passed away at 5 a.m. on Thursday due to full organ failure. “It is sad that we lost the patient early this morning after all her organs failed while we were doing our best to save her life,” he stated.
Dr. Tony Sabila, a family member, confirmed her death to Nation Sport, saying, “It is true that we lost our sister this morning, although the doctors tried to save her life, and I was there personally.”
Cheptegei, 33, suffered from 80 percent burns and was on life support due to the severity of the injuries which included being incubated and fully sedated.
The Kenyan government had announced on Tuesday September 4 that preparations were in place to airlift Cheptegei to Nairobi for specialized treatment, but unfortunately, this did not occur. Principal Secretary for Sports, Peter Tum, noted that discussions had taken place with Uganda’s Sports Minister, Peter Ogwang, regarding the airlift.
Athletics Kenya President Jack Tuwei condemned the incident that led to her injuries, emphasizing that no one should have to experience such a tragedy over property disputes, especially involving partners. “The incident that happened to our athlete from Uganda is really unfortunate and it’s sad because you can’t harm someone because of a disagreement. As a federation, we want to condemn this in the strongest possible terms because this is not the way we should live,” Tuwei asserted, also highlighting the importance of respecting life and living in harmony.
Arrangements for her burial are underway while investigations to establish what could have resulted into Cheptegei’s demise.
