Kenya’s World Ability Sport Beach Games Tragedy has left a nation of sports lovers grappling with grief and disbelief. A triumphant return from Mersin in Turkey turned into mourning within hours, a sharp turn that underlines how sport can offer its highest highs and its heaviest heartbreaks in the same breath.
Kenya Para-Badminton national team athlete Japheth Kakai Kitela died on the same day he arrived back in Nairobi from the World Abilitysport Beach games, his family confirmed. Ability Sports Kenya vice president Alfred Simiyu Barasa said Kakai felt unwell after landing and was confirmed dead at Mbagathi Hospital by midday on Monday 27 October 2025.
A champion welcomed home, then lost
According to Simiyu, Team Kenya completed a journey from Mersin to Istanbul, then connected a six hour flight to Nairobi that touched down around 4.00 am. There was a quick photo session with the media team at the airport, then everyone went home, a quiet end to a busy campaign that had delivered gold on the sand.
“He seemed okay to me, we travelled for an hour from Mersin to Instanbul, then connected another six hour flight to Nairobi arriving on Monday at around 4:00 am and after a quick photo session with our media team, we all went home,” Simiyu narrated sadly.
By noon, the day’s promise had turned to sorrow. Barasa confirmed that Kakai was pronounced dead at Mbagathi Hospital, news that spread quickly through the Kenyan para sport community and beyond.
Gold on the sand in Mersin
Only two days earlier, Kakai had been part of John Mburu’s Mixed Tripples Relays team that beat hosts Turkey 3-1 in the final at Pompei beach in Mersin. The victory on Saturday the 25th clinched a second gold medal for Kenya after the first team had already won in the Mixed Tripples category, a double triumph that painted smiles across the Kenyan delegation.
“He was an integral member of Kenya’s Air Para-Badminton national team that won two gold medals in the just concluded World Ability Sports beach games in Turkey,” said Simiyu.
Teammates had celebrated a decisive performance against a spirited home side, the kind of result that travels far beyond a scoreboard. For Kakai, it was another moment of pride in a career defined by resilience and the joy of competition in para badminton.
What the postmortem found
A postmortem conducted on Wednesday afternoon at Mbagathi Hospital in Nairobi provided the first official explanation. The report indicated that Kakai, who was already a leg amputee, developed blood clots in his only surviving left leg, a sequence that might have caused a deep vein thrombosis which then led to a pulmonary embolism.
The report added that the embolism traveled upwards to his lungs, a life threatening condition that ended his life. The mention of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism offered medical clarity, though it scarcely softened the emotional blow felt by family, teammates, and supporters.
A life rooted in community
Kakai hailed from Makueni County, Kaiti Constituency, Isovya, Muthanga Mutune village, a place now uniting to honor one of its own. In communities like Muthanga Mutune, sporting success is shared, it belongs to families, neighbors, and friends who celebrate the journey as much as the result.
He was 51, a husband, father, and grandfather whose presence extended beyond the court. He is survived by his wife Catherine Anyesi Kakai, six children, and five grand children, a family now at the center of a nation’s condolences.
Plans for a respectful farewell
The family has confirmed that burial will take place on Saturday 8 November 2025 at his home in Muthanga Mutune, Makueni County. The date offers a focal point for collective remembrance, a day to celebrate a life that gave Kenya joy on the world stage and gave hope to many who saw themselves in his fight.
Ability Sports Kenya officials, including treasurer Caroline Wanjera and president Agnes Oluoch, have pledged support to Kakai’s family. They said talks are under way with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports to explore a respectful and deserving send off in recognition by the Kenyan Government.
The journey that preceded the grief
Simiyu’s account of the team’s travel timeline captures the relentless rhythm of international competition. From the hour long trip out of Mersin to Istanbul, to the six hour connection into Nairobi with an arrival around 4.00 am, it was the kind of itinerary athletes and staff know well.
There was time for photographs and smiles, then a dispersal into the still dark morning. Within hours, the mood shifted entirely, a reminder that triumph and tragedy can sit uncomfortably close in the narrative arc of sport and life.
Why this loss resonates
To those around the squad, Kakai was not only a competitor but a teammate whose contribution helped elevate Kenya at the World Abilitysport Beach games. Medals matter, but the human bonds forged on sand and in training halls often matter more, and that is what his colleagues will carry forward.
The para sport community understands resilience in ways that transcend statistics. Kakai’s story, culminating in gold and followed by unfathomable loss, is destined to be remembered for its courage and its humanity as much as for the numbers on a scoreboard.
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A federation and a country offer support
In their messages, Ability Sports Kenya leaders emphasized solidarity with the bereaved family. The outreach to the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports signals a desire to honor a national representative with the dignity his service to the country commands.
Support in such moments matters, for practical reasons and for symbolic ones. It says to the family that their pain is shared, and it says to current and future athletes that Kenya stands with those who compete under its flag.
Remembering the competitor
There is a lasting image of Kakai on the sand in Mersin, part of a team that solved the final against Turkey with clarity of purpose. The 3-1 result brought a second gold for Kenya in the mixed events, a double that will stand in the record books and in the collective memory of those who watched.
Such victories are built on repetition, the unseen hours, the quiet determination. For teammates, coaches, and supporters, that is how they will remember him, as a competitor who did the work and then delivered when it mattered for Team Kenya.
The facts as confirmed
- What happened, Japheth Kakai Kitela died on Monday 27 October 2025 after returning from the World Abilitysport Beach games,
- Where and when he was confirmed dead, he was pronounced at Mbagathi Hospital by noon after arriving in Nairobi around 4.00 am,
- What the postmortem indicated, the report cited blood clots in his left leg, a possible deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.
Community ties and farewell details
From Isovya to Muthanga Mutune, the news has already woven together stories of how Kakai lifted others with his example. The pride of Makueni County in one of its sons now mixes with grief, and with it comes the resolve to give him a farewell equal to his service in para sport.
The burial set for 8 November 2025 creates space for that mourning and that celebration. It is a chance to speak his name and to remember his performances in Mersin, including the mixed team victory that ensured Kenya’s campaign closed with a flourish.
What his teammates will carry forward
Those who shared the court with Kakai will remember the details that never make a scoreboard, the steadiness between rallies, the voice that steadies a team when momentum tilts. In a mixed relays environment, trust is everything, and Kakai had earned that trust through action.
As the team reflects on the journey, the images will be vivid, Pompei beach, the hosts on the other side, a 3-1 scoreline that sealed gold. The medals speak to performance, and the memories speak to the person, both elements woven into a legacy that endures beyond a single tournament.
A note on the medical findings
The postmortem report’s language is clinical by necessity. It points to blood clots in the left leg, and to a sequence that might have led to a pulmonary embolism reaching the lungs, a life threatening event that brought a swift and devastating end.
In the face of such finality, sport’s community often turns to ritual and remembrance. The promises of support, the plans for a dignified send off, and the recounting of competitive milestones are all part of how families and federations begin to heal.
