NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died at a Kenyan hospital where she was being treated after 80% of her body was burned in an attack by her partner. She was 33.

Kenya’s sports minister said authorities must do more to combat gender-based violence.

A spokesperson at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret city, Owen Menach, confirmed Cheptegei’s death on Thursday. Menach said the long-distance runner died early in the morning after her organs failed. She had been fully sedated on admission at the hospital.

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

Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, told journalists at the hospital that he had lost a daughter who was “very supportive” and said he hoped to get justice.

“As it is now, the criminal who harmed my daughter is a murderer and I am yet to see what the security officials are doing,” the father said. “He is still free and might even flee.”

Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom said Monday that Cheptegei’s partner, Dickson Ndiema, bought a can of gasoline, poured it on her and set her ablaze during a disagreement Sunday. Ndiema was also burned and was being treated at the same hospital.

Menach said Ndiema was still in the intensive care unit with burns over 30% of his body but was “improving and stable.”

Cheptegei’s parents said their daughter bought land in Trans Nzoia to be near Kenya’s many athletic training centers. A report filed by the local chief said Cheptegei and Ndiema were heard fighting before the attack over the land where her house was built.

The Uganda Athletics Federation eulogized Cheptegei on the social platform X, writing, “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 Olympic Committee President Donald Rukare called the attack “a cowardly and senseless act that has led to the loss of a great athlete.”

Kenya’s Sports Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said the government would ensure justice for the victim.

“This tragedy is a stark reminder that we must do more to combat gender-based violence in our society, which in recent years has reared its ugly head in elite sporting circles,” he wrote in a statement.

In 2023, Ugandan Olympic runner and steeplechaser Benjamin Kiplagat was found dead with stab wounds. In 2022, Kenyan-born Bahraini athlete Damaris Muthee was found dead and a postmortem report stated that she was strangled. In 2021, long distance runner Agnes Tirop was stabbed to death at her home. Her husband, Ibrahim Rotich, was arrested and charged with murder, the case is ongoing.

Kenya’s very 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.

Mohamed Amin, the head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, said Collins Jumaisi Khalusha escaped along with 12 other inmates of Eritrean nationality who had been arrested for being in the country illegally.

Acting police inspector general Gilbert Masengeli said disciplinary measures have been taken against eight officers, including the area and station commanders and officers who were on duty.

“Our preliminary investigations indicate that the escape was aided by insiders considering that officers were deployed accordingly to guard the station,” he said.

A police report said the inmates escaped early Tuesday morning after they cut through wire mesh in the cell and scaled the perimeter wall. The escape was discovered as breakfast was being taken into the cell.

Khalusha, 33, was being detained at the police station after a court allowed detectives seven more days to investigate his alleged crimes before charging him.

Khalusha was arrested in July after 10 bodies and several body parts were found wrapped in plastic sacks in the Kware area of Nairobi.

Police said Khalusha confessed to killing 42 women, including his wife.

“This was a high-value suspect who was to face serious charges. We are investigating the incident and will take action accordingly,” Amin said.

Khalusha’s lawyer, John Maina Ndegwa, told journalists his client was tortured and forced to confess and maintained he was not guilty.

Ndegwa told the AP that he last spoke to Khalusha on Friday when he was presented in court.

“I’m also confounded by the news,” he said.

The police station from which the suspects escaped was cordoned off with crime scene tape and senior police officers visited it on Tuesday afternoon.

Two other suspects who were arrested after being found with cellphones belonging to some of the deceased women are to return to court next Monday.

Police in July said the bodies were discovered after relatives of one missing woman said they had a dream in which she told them to search in a quarry.

The relatives asked a local diver to help and he discovered the bodies wrapped in sacks. Six bodies were identified after DNA tests, but several body parts remain unidentified.