Volleyball icon Janet Wanja was laid to rest in an emotional family function at the Lang’ata Cemetery in Nairobi, Friday afternoon. Wanja was buried in a ceremony attended by family, close friends as well as Malkia Strikers and Kenya Pipeline volleyball club players.

The burial ceremony went over just half an hour, with a short service preceding the procession to the burial site, held at the morgue.

Emotions ran high, as Wanja’s body was lowered into the grave, just a few minutes before noon with her brother Mathare United midfielder Kevin Kimani, overcome with emotions as he threw soil into her grave.

The burial was also attended by members from the football family, including former Harambee Stars captain Dennis Oliech, as well as marathon legend Catherine Ndereba.

Wanja passed away on boxing day in her home in Kasarani, after a short battle with gall bladder cancer. On Thursday, a requiem mass was held in her remembrance at the Kasarani Indoor Gymnasium, her last centre of duty during Malkia Strikers’ pre-Olympics training camp.

Wanja, who retired from volleyball just as the COVID-19 pandemic closed down sports, was named as the Malkia Strikers strength and conditioning coach before the All Africa Games early in March, and was then handed the same duty for the Olympic Games, which signaled her last sojourn with the game she loved.

After returning from Paris in late August, Wanja began feeling unwell, and several visits to different hospitals finally led to her being diagnosed with cancer.

She battled the disease and was admitted at MP Shah Hospital for a while, before she was discharged, to receover from home, where she passed away, surrounded by friends and family.