Waithaka Kioni: Leader par excellence, pioneer and mentor

Veteran sports administrator Waithaka Kioni has departed from the world at peace with himself.

While some leaders choose to linger on until they are hounded out of office by age, irrelevance or ill health, he was ready to pass over the baton.

He announced last year that he would not defend his position as president of Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) during the elections scheduled for April 29.

Kioni, 70, who died at a Nairobi hospital on Sunday, was a towering figure in the sport of volleyball.

At the time of his passing, he was one of the vice presidents of the Confederation of African Volleyball, and the second vice president of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya.

He had a hand in shaping the careers of many athletes including former Kenya international McDonald Mariga who honed his skills at Kenya Pipeline Football Club that was established by the fallen hero.

After three decades in volleyball administration, Kioni was preparing for a change of guard but death robbed the sports fraternity of that part of history with finality. He was taken ill at a sports club in Kasarani, Nairobi resulting in his untimely demise.

Kioni was the face of volleyball and sports in Nairobi for a long time in the 80s, before scaling up the ladder. He started off his career as a Nairobi branch volleyball administrator and made a huge contribution in the growth of women's sports.

He founded Kenya Pipeline women’s volleyball team that went on to become a giant on the Kenyan scene, and beyond.

Nairobi was very vibrant in sports during Kioni’s time in charge together with other like-minded sports officials.

For 31 years, Kenya Pipeline Women’s Volleyball Club has been a force to reckon with on the home front and at continental level.

The team’s titles in the African Club Championship remain unsurpassed. Pipeline won top honours for the first time in 1995 on home soil. This was followed by 1996 (Nigeria), 1999 (Tunisia), 2001 (Algeria), 2002 (Senegal), 2004 (Senegal) and 2005 (Algeria). The team also took runners-up position six times.

Kenya Pipeline produced many household names in volleyball in the early 90s such as Doris “Scud” Wefwafwa, Mary Wanambisi, Rosemary Lubembe and coach Peter “Master” Wahome — all deceased.

Others are Lucy “Fataki” Kamweru, Wanja Kanyi, Alice Kamweru, Esther Anane, Magdeline Achieng, Benta Atieno, Beatrice Kwoba, Mary Ouko, Emily Achieng and Lena Serem.

Kioni was able to transit well from the Nairobi branch leadership to the national office and he picked up from where his predecessors left.

Together with his peers — Emmanuel Nakitare, Alfred Khangati and the late Miendo Salamba — they took over the running of volleyball from the late Major General Sam Suero’s group in the 90s and ushered in a new dawn.

Kioni steered the ship well after taking over from Khangati as Kenya Volleyball Federation chairman when his predecessor went into politics. Khangati succeeded Barnabas Bargoria.

After completing his studies at the University of Nairobi in the early 80s, Kioni joined Standard Group for a short period before moving to Kenya Pipeline Company Public Relations Department. He rose from a lower cadre and grew the department to become one of the most dynamic and well-structured among government parastatals and the corporate world.

Kioni was one of the pioneer PR practitioners who took over from the post-independence pacesetters, bringing in new practices.

But very little was known of KPA as it was not offering direct services to ordinary people. But it is at the KPC where Kioni’s PR ingenuity came to play using sports.

He convinced the management to establish a women’s volleyball team to give hope to young school leavers and give the firm brand visibility.

The Kenya Pipeline team and their perennial rivals Posta grew women's volleyball to dizzying heights. They contributed the bulk of the players to the national team.

Although Kenya has never won any global title, Kenyan teams rose to become the queens of African volleyball.

Besides volleyball, Kenya Pipeline also ventured into football. Through Kioni’s initiative, Kenya Pipeline team made a mark in football, but it was short-lived.

The club shaped the legendary Mariga’s career. Mariga won the Uefa Champions League title while playing under Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan. He also won the Italian Serie A League title among other major achievements.

He played for Kenya Pipeline in 2004 after the team won the President's Cup in 2002. It was from Pipeline FC that Mariga moved to Sweden, then to Parma and eventually to Inter Milan.

Kioni raised his family in a sporting environment. His sons Mwangi Kioni and David Kahugu raced together in motorsports in the last 10 years. Mwangi was McRae Kimathi’s navigator when the pair finished fifth in the Junior World Rally Championship (JWRC) last year driving a Ford Fiesta Rally 3.

Kioni remained in touch with the media world. Kenya Year Book Chief Executive Officer Edward Mwasi, who credits his career growth to Kioni, said his eye for detail and creativity was at another level.

“Although our interactions were initially professional and business-related, we eventually became friends, and he became my mentor. We kept in contact since the 90s. We last met on March 24. Kioni was as jovial, fatherly, and brotherly as usual,” recalled Mwasi.

Kioni kept his friends close, including many of us who loved the bottle in our youth. But he often told us alcohol shouldn’t take precedence over family, self-discipline and hard work.

Nation Media Group’s Lead Editor, Sports and Integration Projects Elias Makori had fond memories of Kioni.

“I recall travelling with him to the 1995 Women's Volleyball World Cup in Japan and subsequently partnering in many sports ventures. Mr Kioni called me recently on Wednesday last week congratulating me on my new position. We agreed to speak more in the coming days but little did I know that would be our last conversation,” he said.