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Volleyball: Date Set for Janet Wanja Funeral

Ahead of the Paris Olympics, Janet Wanja played a huge role as trainer in motivating the Malkia Strikers squad

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Volleyball: Date Set for Janet Wanja Funeral
The late Janet Wanja. (Photo: RMS)
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A date has been set for the funeral of Janet Wanja, the legendary Kenyan volleyballer who passed away aged 40 on December 26 due to complications from gallbladder cancer.

She will be buried on Friday, January 3, 2025, at Lang’ata Cemetery in Nairobi, Kenya Volleyball Federation President Charles Nyaberi, who is a member of the funeral organising committee, has confirmed.

He noted that there will be a memorial service at Moi International Sports Centre Indoor Arena at Kasarani on Thursday from 10 AM to 2 PM before the burial ceremony the following day.

> Veteran Sports Journalist Recalls Intimate Moments With Volleyball Star Janet Wanja

“There will be a memorial service at Moi International Sports Centre Indoor Arena in Kasarani on Thursday from 10 AM to 2 PM, after which the body will return to Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home on Mbagathi Road in Nairobi for an overnight stay ahead of the burial on Friday,” said Nyaberi.

He added, “Only family members, close friends, and dignitaries will be allowed to attend the private burial ceremony on Friday at Lang’ata Cemetery.”

Born in 1984, Wanja was a great influence in Kenyan volleyball from 2004 when she was selected to join Malkia Strikers, the Kenya women’s national volleyball team, to represent the country at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games at only 20 years of age.

She went on to become a dependable setter for the national team in a glittering career spanning 15 years, during which she won five African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) Championship titles with Kenya and featured in the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Championships, FIVB World Cup, and FIVB World Grand Prix.

At the club level, she played for KCB and Kenya Pipeline, Rwandese giants APR, as well as another team in the United Arab Emirates. She left a mark at Kenya Pipeline, with whom she won several Kenyan league titles and one African Clubs Championship title, before retiring in 2020.

Before her death, Wanja served as the trainer of Kenya’s women’s national team during the Paris 2024 Olympics as part of her transition to coaching after retirement.

> Kenya’s National Volleyball Team Upbeat Despite Missing Star

Written by
JUSTUS KIPRONO -

Justus Kiprono is a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya. He tracks Capital Markets and economic trends, infrastructure reform, government spending, and the financial impacts of state decision-making nationwide. You can reach him: [email protected]

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