Connect with us

News

Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei ex Dickson Ndiema in intensive care with 30% burns

Published

on

Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei ex Dickson Ndiema who burned Marathon star to death in intensive care with 30% burns

OLYMPIC runner Rebecca Cheptegei’s ex Dickson Ndiema who allegedly burned her to death is in intensive care with 30 per cent burns.

The Ugandan athlete, 33, died after her former partner snuck into her home and allegedly set her on fire – causing horror burns on over 75 per cent of her body, local media reported.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3bL0YM_0vLam0yO00
Rebecca Cheptegei, 33, tragically died
https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3UCWDQ_0vLam0yO00
Here she competed in the 2023 women’s marathon final during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest
AFP

Local police chief Jeremiah ole Kosiom said on Tuesday that Cheptegei’s ex-boyfriend poured petrol on her and set her alight during an argument on Sunday.

He reportedly entered her home while she and her two children were at church.

As he allegedly set her alight using a matchstick he was also engulfed by the flames and rushed to hospital, Nation Africa reports.

Now the alleged perpetrator has been named as Dickson Ndiema who is recovering from burn injuries he sustained in the heinous attack.

He apparently has 30 per cent burns, Menach reports.

One of Cheptegei’s own daughters is said to have seen the deadly assault at her mum’s home, it’s reported.

She told Kenya’s The Standard: “He kicked me while I tried to run to the rescue of my mother.

“I immediately cried out for help, attracting a neighbour who tried to extinguish the flames with water, but it was not possible.”

According to local media, the attack was launched after Ndiema allegedly snuck into her compound while she and her children were at church.

He was allegedly armed with petrol and poured it on the athlete before setting her alight with a matchstick.

In the process he too was engulfed by the flames, Nation Africa reports.

This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure

Donald Rukare President of the Uganda Olympic Committee

Cheptegei’s father, Joseph Cheptegei, spoke from hospital with his other daughter before she died and told local media that the pair were fighting over her land prior to the alleged attack.

He also confirmed to Kenyan newspaper The Star that his daughter’s two children are not fathered by the alleged attacker.

Mr Cheptegei also claimed that she and her ex-partner, who he alleges have been separated for a long time, are involved in a case being investigated by Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Cheptegei was rescued by neighbours after the horrific incident in her town of Endebess.

She then spent days in critical condition at an Intensive Care Unit in Eldoret city’s Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, western Kenya.

The Ugandan Athletics Federation posted on X on Thursday morning: “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.”

Inside Rebecca Cheptegei’s athletic career

BY Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter

Rebecca Cheptegei, who has died aged 33, was a Ugandan cross country, long distance and marathon runner.

She had represented Uganda at global competitions since 2010 including the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, World Mountain and Trail Running Championships and World Athletics Championships.

Cheptegei most recently competed in the Paris 2024 Olympics in the women’s marathon race.

She finished in 44th place.

According to local reports, Cheptegei had two children.

She had recently moved to Trans Nzoia County to be closer to Kenya’s athletic training facilities.

Cheptegei was a cross country, long distance and marathon runner who competed globally and most recently finished 44th in the Paris 2024 Olympics Women’s Marathon race.

People on X paid tribute to the athlete, writing “RIP” and “May her soul rest in peace”.

One woman added: “So so sad, watched her race many times.”

Another wrote: “Dear Ugandans, and to her family, we are sorry. This is heartbreaking.”

The president of the Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) Donald Rukare said in a post on X today: “We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei… following a vicious attack by her boyfriend.

“This was a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete. Her legacy will continue to endure.”

The UOC is urging local law enforcement to “take swift and decisive action to bring the perpetrator to justice”.

The pro runner finished 44th in the marathon at Paris 2024 Olympics.

How you can get help

Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:

  • Always keep your phone nearby.
  • Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
  • If you are in danger, call 999.
  • Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
  • Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
  • If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
  • Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.

If you are a ­victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support ­service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk .

Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.

You can also call the freephone 24-hour ­National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.

https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3QfbtY_0vLam0yO00
Rebecca Cheptegei’s sister Evalyne Chelagat cries at a press conference this week
NTV Kenya
https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2V1WWk_0vLam0yO00
Rebecca’s father Joseph Cheptegei, speaking earlier this week from hospital alongside his other daughter Evalyne Chelagat
The Star Digital

Texas Guardian News
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Africa

Trump’s sudden suspension of foreign aid puts millions of lives in Africa at risk

Published

on

  • The United States government funds HIV prevention, treatment and research programmes across the world but especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

  • US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on 20 January that halts foreign aid for 90 days.

  • The order, which is not clearly worded, has left in doubt the future of many life-saving HIV programmes in Africa.

The sudden decision by United States President Donald Trump to halt and review all foreign aid for 90 days could be devastating for HIV programmes in African countries. After Trump’s inauguration on 20 January, he signed numerous executive orders. One of these suspends aid to “foreign countries and implementing non-governmental organisations, international organisations, and contractors” pending review for whether it aligns with “American interests and … values”.

The order said, “no further [US] foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States”.

Foreign aid includes the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. PEPFAR has saved millions of lives since it was launched by former president George W. Bush in 2003.

PEPFAR statistics show that at the end of 2024, it was providing life-saving antiretroviral treatment to nearly 21-million people across 55 countries, many of them in sub-Saharan Africa. PEPFAR is also delivering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) — which stops people from contracting HIV — to about 2.5 million people. In 2024, PEPFAR provided HIV testing to about 84-million people. It funds HIV treatment and intervention in Uganda, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and many others.

South Africa has about 5.6-million people on antiretroviral treatment. The medicines themselves are paid for by the South African government, but PEPFAR funds some of the staff at some ARV programmes. It also funds much of the prevention and information effort, including ARV user clubs, medical circumcision and public messaging.

South Africa does leading research on HIV and TB. Much of this is funded by the US National Institutes of Health. It’s unclear what the future status of this funding is.

It’s also unclear what the status is of money that has been committed. For example, some programmes get monthly tranches based on contracts that have already been signed. At least one project manager we spoke to said he wasn’t sure if commitments for February onwards would be arriving, and US government representatives who he deals with are themselves unsure.

This uncertainty is due to this phrase in the executive order, “shall immediately pause new obligations and disbursements”. It’s unclear if already-committed disbursements are affected.

Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, an infectious disease scientist at the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at UCT, said that it’s unclear whether the PEPFAR funding will be reduced or stopped but that the outcome in African countries could be “disastrous”.

Bekker said that HIV treatment “doesn’t stand still” and that treatment, PrEP, and quality healthcare have to keep on getting to people.

Bekker also said that other countries in Africa are far more dependent on PEPFAR funding than South Africa. For example, Malawi, which has a minimal health budget.

“There is no doubt our own national governments need to step up. We know there needs to be more self-reliance,” she said, but added that the sudden stop of donor funding can be “disastrous”.

study from 2024 looking at the rate of mortality amongst South African adults who experienced interruption in antiretroviral treatment, shows that interrupting antiretroviral treatment leads to much greater risk of death.

Over the years, Bekker says, PEPFAR funding has also gradually transitioned from where there was an emergency situation, at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the early 2000s, to helping countries’ health systems cope.

PEPFAR allocations in Malawi for 2024 and 2025 are $180-million and $178-million respectively. It is one of two of the biggest funders of HIV interventions in Malawi, along with the Global Fund, according to the National Aids Commission (NAC) of Malawi. In a recent strategic plan, the NAC noted that, “There is an urgent need to sustain and accelerate the national response between 2020 and 2025 in order to put Malawi on the path towards ending AIDS as a public health threat in Malawi by 2030.”

It is unclear how Trump’s order to pause and review foreign aid will affect PEPFAR in the future. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) media office did not respond to questions by the time of publication.

Trump also issued an executive order withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to Reuters there is a 12-month notice period for the US, the WHO’s largest funder, to leave the organisation and stop all financial contributions to its work.

Texas Guardian News
Continue Reading

News

Trump Administration to Address Non-Citizen Immigrants as ‘Aliens’

Published

on

The Trump administration has decided to officially refer to non-citizen immigrants as “aliens.” Caleb Vitello, the Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), issued an internal memo directing the use of the term “alien” instead of “non-citizen.”

From now on, “non-citizen” will be replaced with “alien,” “non-citizenship” with “alienage,” “undocumented non-citizen” with “undocumented alien,” and “non-citizen children” with “alien children.” Before the Biden administration, the term “alien” was commonly used to refer to non-citizens.

“This memorandum supersedes and rescinds the April 19, 2021, Updated Terminology for Communications and Materials memorandum from Acting Director Tae Johnson. Moving forward, for all communications materials and internal and external communications, ICE employees are directed to use the lexicon consistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act and the language historically used by the agency. Specifically, ICE will revert to its prior lexicon,” the memo sent to ICE leadership by Acting Director Caleb Vitello reads.

On April 19, 2021, the Biden administration changed these terminologies. Since then, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had stopped referring to immigrants as “aliens” or “illegal aliens.” The Biden administration had instructed U.S. immigration enforcement agencies not to use terms like “alien” or “illegal alien” when referring to immigrants. However, under the previous Trump administration, such terms were widely used.

ICE and CBP are the primary federal agencies responsible for enforcing immigration laws in the U.S. The Biden administration had changed these terms as part of its efforts to make the immigration system more humane.

Under the changes, the term “alien” was replaced with “non-citizen” or “migrant,” and “illegal” was replaced with “undocumented.” ICE’s then-Acting Director, Tae Johnson, had emphasized the use of more inclusive language.

Texas Guardian News
Continue Reading

African American

Over 10,000 Black Women Come Together to Thank Kamala Harris

Published

on

Over 10,000 Black women, led by the Black Women’s Leadership Collective and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., have united to express their gratitude to Kamala Harris in an open letter celebrating her legacy of service, leadership, and inspiration.

The heartfelt letter highlights Harris’s historic role as the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as Vice President of the United States and acknowledges her tireless dedication to advancing justice, equity, and representation for marginalized communities.

“As the first Black woman to hold the office of Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris leaves behind an incredible legacy of strength, resilience, grace, and determination,” said Dr. Stacie NC Grant, President and CEO of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

She reflected on the historic moment Harris addressed the sorority’s Grand Boule in Indianapolis in July 2024, her first public appearance as the sitting Vice President and presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee.

Although the 2024 presidential election did not result in a victory, the letter acknowledges Harris’s profound impact on millions, particularly Black women and girls. Her presidential campaign symbolized hope and progress, inspiring her supporters to continue fighting for justice and equity.

The letter, signed by prominent Black women leaders such as Donna Brazile, LaTosha Brown, Symone Sanders Townsend, and Secretary Marcia Fudge, praises Harris’s work on key issues such as voting rights, economic justice, and healthcare. It also acknowledges the sacrifices and resilience she displayed while breaking barriers in U.S. politics.

“Your work does not go unnoticed, and it inspires generations of women and girls to dream bigger and fight harder for the future they deserve,” the letter states.

The initiative underscores the vital role Black women have played in Harris’s political journey. From her historic election as Vice President in 2020 to her unprecedented presidential campaign in 2024, Black women have mobilized to support her vision of dismantling barriers and amplifying marginalized voices.

Texas Guardian News
Continue Reading

Trending