NAIROBI, Kenya, October 30, 2025 – Kenyan para-badminton player Japheth Kakai Kitela is dead.
According to Ability Sports Kenya vice-president Alfred Simiyu, Kakai fell ill on Monday after the arrival of Team Kenya from the World Ability Sport Beach Games in Mersin, Turkey.
He was admitted to Mbagathi Hospital on the same day after which he passed away.
“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 said.
Results of a postmortem done on Wednesday afternoon indicate that Kaikai developed blood clots in his left leg, which might have led to deep vein thrombosis (DVT) — resulting in a pulmonary embolism that travelled upwards to his lungs.
The 51-year-old was part of Team Kenya’s mixed triples relays that won gold after beating Turkey 3-1 at Pompei beach on Saturday.
He is survived by his wife, Catherine Anyesi Kakai, six children and five grand children.
