Rebecca Cheptegei tribute: Tayebwa calls for end domestic violence in Uganda

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa has led Parliament in paying tribute to former Olympics athlete, Rebecca Cheptegei, who died in Kenya following an arson attack orchestrated by her former boyfriend, Dickson Ndiema, describing her attack as unfortunate hence calling for critical solutions to end domestic violence in Uganda.

“I want to express my sincere condolences on behalf of Parliament for the death of Sergeant Rebecca Cheptegei who died in an arson attack in Kenya, our former Olympics athlete. It is unfortunate that we keep losing people in such a manner, especially through domestic violence. Really, it is something we have to sit down and see how best we can handle. It is very unfortunate,” said Tayebwa.

“There are many dying that way that aren’t known. Our sister Rebecca at least had a name that could sound beyond her home area, but for those dying quietly, it is an issue which we have to tackle as leaders, not only political leaders but leaders from all aspects of society. It is an issue we should see a way of tackling, we must put our heads together and get a solution on how best it can be mitigated,” added the Deputy Speaker.

Earlier, the women activists’ wing, The Women Probono Initiative expressed outrage over the brutal murder of Rebecca, saying she had yet again fallen victim to a vicious act of gender-based violence and that her murder had shattered the future of her two young daughters.

“The systematic negligence of gender based violence is in itself an act of violence against women. Women are not disposable; their deaths are not mere statistics and we will not allow their voices to be silenced. Rebecca’s murder is not an isolated event. Uganda and many parts of the world have witnessed an epidemic of violence against women. Globally, every 11 minutes, a woman or girl is killed by a partner or family member, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime,” read part of a statement from The Women Probono Initiative.

While Rebecca Cheptegei was murdered in Kenya by a Kenyan national, the Women Probono Initiative urged the Ugandan government to explore avenues for cross-border legal collaboration under regional and international human rights law. Uganda and Kenya are signatories to key legal frameworks such as the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and CEDAW, which obligate both countries to address violence against women and ensure justice is served.

Rebecca Cheptegei was more than an Olympic athlete—she was a beacon of strength, resilience, and inspiration for women across Uganda, striving to break barriers in a male-dominated sport. Her murder is an indication of a culture that continues to permit, perpetuate, and normalize the subjugation and slaughter of women under the guise of tradition, power, and indifference.

According to the Police Annual Crime Report 2023, 14,681 Gender based violence cases were reported to Uganda Police in 2023, an indication that 40 cases were being reported to Police everyday on average.