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The former boyfriend of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who killed her by setting her on fire, has himself died from burns sustained in the attack, a Kenyan hospital official has said.<\/p>\n
Dickson Ndiema ambushed the marathon runner as she returned home from church more than a week ago. He then doused her with petrol and set her ablaze. <\/p>\n
Local administrators said the two had been in conflict over a small piece of land in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained. <\/p>\n
Ndiema died on Monday night at the intensive care unit, where according to the hospital, he had been admitted with burns on more than 40% of his body.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“He developed respiratory failure as a result of the severe airway burns and sepsis that led to his eventual death on Monday evening at 18:30 hours [15:30 GMT] despite life-saving measures,” a press release from Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital said.<\/p>\n
Cheptegei died last Thursday <\/a>– four days after she was attacked. She suffered burns to more than 80% of her body.<\/p>\n Neighbours said that on the day of the attack, <\/b>they heard screams before Cheptegei came running towards them shouting for help. <\/p>\n Local media reported that Ndiema had snuck into Cheptegei’s home in western Kenya\u2019s Trans Nzoia county with a five-litre jerry can full of petrol.<\/p>\n Some of the fuel he doused Cheptegei with splashed onto his own body, according to reports. As a result, Ndiema got caught in the fire after he set his former partner alight.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n But now that Ndiema has died, the criminal case has been dropped and an inquest into the two deaths will be opened instead.<\/p>\n Both Ndiema and Cheptegei were admitted to Moi Hospital before their deaths.<\/p>\n