Family, friends, and former teammates of Kenya women’s hockey player Judith Amwayi who died on February 14 in Canada, have mourned the forward as a gifted player, hardworking colleague, and a deeply spiritual person.
Amwayi, who treated local hockey fans to awe-inspiring performances for club and country between 1989 and 1999, passed away at Grey Nuns Community Hospital in southern Edmonton, in Alberta, Canada after being taken ill suddenly.
She is survived by her husband Todd Odhuno and two sons - Yanzi Geno Okuno and Zakwena Odhuno. She was 53.
She will be laid to rest on Saturday, March 7 2026, at Nyangulu Village in Gem Ramula, Siaya County. On Friday, her husband Todd Odhuno described her as someone who was deeply spiritual, and pursued every task she set out to do.
“She (Amwayi) always talked about God…She was a victorious mother, very prophetic person, and extremely intuitive,” Odhuno said, recalling how everything his late wife told him about a person she was meeting for the first time often turned out to be true.
“She was extremely diligent, and was never late to work. She was a conversationalist, we talked a lot and that is how we started our friendship,” he said on Friday during her memorial service at the All Saints Cathedral in Nairobi.
Odhuno also recalled how Amwayi supported him in raising US$250 (approximately Sh32, 287) for upkeep when he relocated to Canada in 1998.
According to Amwayi’s sister-in-law Millicent Were, the departed player was a “special person”.
“She (Amwayi) did a lot of (good) things for people in this world…She had a big kingdom in herself, she was a queen on her own,” Ms Were said.
Todd Odhuno reads his tribute to his late wife, late Hockey Player Judith Amwayi, during her requiem mass held at All Saints Cathedral on March 6, 2026.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
Born in a sporting family, Amwayi’s illustrious hockey career began in late 1987 at Pangani Girls High School, where she was a student. As a sprinter, she also won many awards in athletics at school games.
Fondly known as “Jolie” in local hockey circles, Amwayi featured for Kenya women’s hockey team from 1989 to 1999, a decade during which the country achieved several milestones.
She played for Kenya at the 1993 Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup in Terrassa, Spain, and also won a gold medal at the Africa Women’s Hockey Junior World Cup qualifier tournament in Nairobi in 1992.
She also won silver medal with Kenya at the 1998 Women’s Field Hockey Africa Nations Cup in Harare, Zimbabwe, and claimed bronze medals with Kenya at the sixth All Africa Games in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 1995, and at the Women’s Hockey Africa Cup of Nations in Harare, Zimbabwe in1990.
At club level, Amwayi played for the defunct Inter-Capitale Women’s Hockey Club.
On Friday, Amwayi’s former team mates and the players she mentored attended her memorial service.
Her former team mates present at the memorial service included Vivian Agunda (Sliders Women’s Hockey Club), Caroline Mugadi, Cathy Kimeu, Agnes Obati and Gloria Masese and Hellen Gachusha, all of whom played for the defunct Inter-Capitale Women’s Blues Hockey Club.
Her team mates at the national squad present were Kenya Hockey Union deputy president Elynah Shiveka, Jane Nyamogo, Rose Mbulo, Jackline Atieno and Dorothy Muga, all of whom played for Telkom Women’s Hockey Club which has since rebranded to Blazers.
The late Judith Amwayi played for Kenya's national hockey team.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Speaking on behalf of the retired hockey players, Mugadi said beyond being a very talented hockey player, Amwayi was also a unifying factor in the team.
“To us she was simply Jolie, a name that carried warmth, friendship and a quiet strength that touched every person that she encountered,” said Mugadi in her tribute.
“Jolie was more than a member of our team. She was the person who effortlessly breached differences and made each one of us feel included,” she added. Thanks to her swift pace and powerful shots, Amwayi was the designated taker of short corners both at club and national team.
On Friday, Mugadi recalled how Amwayi’s powerful shot once broke the toe of Inter-Capitale goalkeeper Molly Ayiemba.
“In 1988, she (Amwayi) was only 16 but she was playing club hockey with us. She was encouraging and motivating us and hitting the hardest, most direct and impactful short corners. She broke our goalkeeper’s toe despite being well padded,” she recalled.
Until her demise, Amwayi served as the Assistant Registrar in Admissions at the University of Alberta in Canada. The university honoured her by flying its flag at half-mast from February 26 to March 2.
She undertook her undergraduate studies at Kenyatta University, and at Kings University in Canada.
Before relocating to Canada in 1999, she was employed in the Sports ministry, thanks to her exceptional sporting talent.
