Committee sets burial date for fallen KVF boss Waithaka Kioni

Fallen Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) President Waithaka Kioni will be laid to rest next Wednesday at his rural home in Kiamwangi village, Gatundu in Kiambu County.

Tributes continue to pour in for the long-serving leader, who until his death was the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Deputy President and Treasurer, National Olympic Committee of Kenya's Second Deputy President and KVF boss.

Kioni had gone for his routine gym session at Sportview Hotel in Nairobi on Saturday, where he is reported to have collapsed.

He was then rushed to St Francis Hospital but it took too long to get a fully-equipped ambulance to transfer him to Aga Khan Hospital leading to his death.

The Funeral Organising Committee chairman Edward Kisaka, a former Kenyan international, announced the burial date during the Zoom Meeting orgainsed by National Olympic Committee of Kenya(NOC-K) on Tuesday night themed: Mr Kioni: A Sports Tribute.

 “A large number of mourners are expected to flock his home and we are determined to organise a befitting burial for our icon, a man of his stature. We are in constant communication with the family to have a respectable send off. We have daily meetings at the Sagas Hotel along Thika road, in Nairobi at 5:30pm. We are also in the process of getting an M-PESA Paybill and once we get it, we will share with the public so that they can channel their contribution there,”said Kisaka.

NOC-K officials, leaders from various local sports federations, Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) President Bouchra Hajij, CAVB Zone V President Fernand Ruterana, Internal Volleyball Federation (FIVB) General Director Fabio Azevedo, coaches, players and journalists continued pay tribute to Kioni, 70 during the meeting chaired by NOCK Secretary General Francis Mutuku that kicked off at 7:20pm that ended shortly after 10pm.

A teary CAVB president Hajij revealed that the late Kioni was behind her rise to the top of the CAVB leadership.

“This is Kioni’s doing. l owe him. We first met in 2016 and he encouraged me to venture into volleyball leadership. In 2016, he spearheaded my appointment as the first woman to be elected for FIVB Board of Administration. And 2020, he was behind my candidature for the CAVB presidency which I later won. I have lost a friend, father and a mentor. Kioni stood for excellence,“ said  Hajij.

FIVB General Director Azevedo remembered Kioni as huge supporter of the sport in Africa.

“I remember we were with him during the Olympics in Japan, when Malkia Strikers were playing the hosts in the opening match, he was all smiles when Kenya led at some point in the match. You could see the support and the work he had put in the team," Azevedo said.

"He also ensured that FIVB forged great partnership with Africa especially the Malkia Strikers through the empowerment project. It is this project that saw the team train in Brazil for three months prior to the World Championship in Netherlands last year. He was intelligent. We will forever hold him in high esteem,” said the official.

CAVB Zone V President Ruterana said Kioni provided wise counsel in every meeting.

“He oozed wisdom and regardless of his age, he would easily fit in any sitting. He put Malkia Strikers on the world map and we can only pick from where he left,” Ruterana.

KVF Technical Director David Lung’aho, Malkia Strikers head coach Paul Bitok, Mercy Moim and Sam Juma - who represented the men and women’s Kenya teams - eulogised Kioni as a father figure.

Nation Media Group, Lead Editor - Sports and Integration - Elias Makori and Nation Mediag Group's Online Sports Sub-Editor Samuel Gacharira, mourned Kioni as leader who spared time for journalists despite his tight schedule.

He was the brains behind the formation of the Kenya Pipeline Volleyball Club in 1984.

Kioni studied Public Administration at the University of Nairobi. Thereafter he joined the Standard Group in 1978 to 1979 before joining Kenya Pipeline Company in 1980 where he served in the public Relations department.

He held several positions in the Kenya Volleyball Association National before he took over as chairman in 1998. Now known as the Kenya Volleyball Federation, they are set to hold their next election on April 29. Kioni had already said he would not contest another term.

Kioni is survived by four children: Kioni Waithaka Junior, David, Mwangi and Jemimah.

His body is at the Lee Funeral Home.