Year in Review: Ex-KVF boss Waithaka Kioni departed, but his rich legacy lingers

The long-serving sports administrator exited the stage wearing many hats; a father-figure, a leader par excellence, a trailblazer and a mentor, which summed up his towering four-decade association with the sport.

Malkia Strikers' six Africa Nations title, three Olympic Games appearances, historic FIVB Grand Prix Group 3 triumph and four African Games gold medals was part of Kioni’s rich legacy he signed out with.

National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) president Paul Tergat mourned his deputy as 'an ardent volleyball sports leader', saying the Olympics committee was devastated by the loss of its Executive Member.

“Woken up to very devastating news of the death of my 2nd VP, my friend, colleague and father-figure Waithaka Kioni after a short illness. We are yet to come to terms as an Olympic Movement in Kenya about this loss. Poleni to his family; God comfort you,” Tergat said.

"I am immensely saddened to learn this morning of the demise of Mr. Waithaka Kioni, who has been a towering enthusiast and leader in the world of sports, particularly in volleyball,”

"On my own behalf and on behalf of my family and the entire Ministry of Youth Affairs, The Arts and Sports, I do extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, the NOC-K leadership, the Kenya Volleyball Federation and the entire sporting fraternity," Sports CS Ababu Namwamba said then.

In an online event organised by NOC-K- to mourn the administrator- coaches, players, administrators and journalists took turns to celebrate the life of the 70-year-old Kioni, who also served as Vice President of the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB).

Kioni's lasting legacy

Kioni studied public administration at the University of Nairobi before he joined newspaper group Standard Group in 1978 but left for Kenya Pipeline Company in 1980 where he served in the public relations office.

Here Kioni helped found the Kenya Pipeline in 1984, now one of the country’s formidable volleyball clubs with six African titles under their belt.

The Oilers, who have also dominated the local scene, have produced one of the finest volleyball stars in the country including Janet Wanja, departed Doris “Scud” Wefwafwa, Lucy “Fataki” Kamweru, Benta Atieno, Emily Achieng among others.

Kioni started off his career as Nairobi branch volleyball administrator before scaling up the ladder to lead the Kenya Volleyball Association as its national chairman in 1998 before it changed its name to the KVF in 2000.

He nurtured and inspired a generation of volleyball players, coaches and administrators both locally and internationally with his unique and authoritarian leadership style.

“Kioni was a father-figure to many of us. He trusted me with the huge task of coaching Malkia Strikers when I had little experience in 2003 and he was patient with me and we delivered much later. He had a wealth of wisdom when it came to leadership. Kioni was very unique,” former Malkia Strikers head coach David Lungáho mourned the departed giant.

Kioni was also Kenya's Chef de Mission for Tokyo 2020 Games and coincidentally this is the time Malkia Strikers were making a return to the Games after a 16-year hiatus.

The father of modern volleyball, will be remembered as an astute leader and trailblazer of the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme through the Malkia Strikers - and highlighted his vision and dedication to developing volleyball in Africa.

CAVB president Bouchra Hajij praised Kioni as “a brother, mentor and confidante” who was a champion of good governance and played a key role in the revival of African volleyball both on and off the court.

Hajij also called on the new KVF leadership to walk in the footsteps of Kioni.

New KVF leadership

Kioni easily retained his seat in subsequent elections until 2018 when he was elected for the final time, with his term ending after four years, following the enactment of a new constitution in 2014 which set a two-term limit of four years each.

Even before his death, Kioni who was an ardent rally fan was readying to hand over the reins of power in the KVF polls which had been scheduled for April 29, a few weeks before his sudden death.

Current KVF boss Charles Nyaberi, then Kioni’s deputy, briefly acted as the president and later was elected after flooring David Kilundo in the elections held in August.

Sports Disputes Tribunal (SDT) had ruled to extend the National Executive Committee’s tenure by three months to allow KVF to align the polls with the Sports Act following a petition.

Nyaberi garnered 117 votes while his rival Kilundo got 103.

After his candidature was approved by the delegates, Nyaberi said his regime would focus more on the development and nurturing of volleyball talents at the grassroots.

“Even if we are doing well in women volleyball, we still have very few clubs in the country; Maranatha will be introduced to the top league in November. My immediate task will be to revive junior teams, we need a good volleyball foundation and we will do this by establishing training centres that will be led by high profile coaches.”

Former Malkia Strikers head coach Paul Bitok, who guided the team clinch a record-extending tenth Africa Nations title in Cameroon, was elected to serve as Nyaberi’s deputy where he garnered191 votes with his closest challenger Edward Kisaka garnering 23 votes.

Bitok bagged the seat while on assignment with the national team.

“Youth and junior have not been running any kind of program although we have the junior team doing very well. I believe if we continue with the previous plans which the federation had for the junior team then we will identify and nurture talents.

“For the men’s team, I think they have been struggling with sponsorship. We have so many talents in the men’s rank only that we have not been giving them enough support to participate in different competitions,” said Bitok.

Former treasurer Kenneth Tonui was elected vice president with Mududa Waweru becoming the vice president in charge of gender.

Ismail Chege and Bernard Musumba were elected secretary general and treasurer respectively.