Dickson Ndiema ambushed the marathon runner as she returned home from church more than a week ago and then doused her with petrol and set her ablaze, BBC reported.

The athlete died after fighting for her life recently at a hospital.

According to reports, they had a dispute over a small piece of land in north-west Kenya.

Dickson Ndiema was facing charges of murder since the police was treating the death of the athlete as a murder incident.

The former boyfriend was named as the main suspect in the case.

She was the third athlete to be killed in Kenya in the past three years.

In each case, current or former romantic partners were named as the main suspects by police, reported BBC.

The athlete lived and trained in Kenya.

Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom told Mirror: “The couple was heard quarrelling outside their house. During the altercation, the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her. The suspect was also caught by the fire and sustained serious burns."

The Ugandan athlete was the national record holder in the latter discipline and a former world champion in mountain running.

Cheptegei represented Uganda at several World Championships since 2010, including IAAF World Cross Country Championships, World Mountain and Trail Running Championships and World Athletics Championships.

She also competed in the women's marathon at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.