Janet Wanja who died on Thursday night at the age of 40 at her house in Kasarani, Nairobi, after a long battle with gallbladder cancer, represented Kenya for the first time at the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece as a Form Three student at Mukumu Girls High School.
So talented was Wanja that, after succeeding Judith Serenge and Rhoda Liyali as setter of Kenya women’s volleyball team ‘Malkia Strikers, she went on to dominate the role for 11 years, occasionally alternating with her teammate Jane Wacu.
Kenya national volleyball team star setters Janet Wanja (right) and Jane Wacu listen to instructions from coach David Lung'aho at Brookhouse School gymnasium on August 6, 2011.
A team’s setter is the player who runs the team’s offence. The player receives the second touch and sets it for the opposite or outside hitter. A setter needs to have strong communication skills and must make quick decisions in matches, which explains Wanja’s frequent use of hand signals during matches.
After leaving Mukumu Girls High School in 2005, Wanja started her professional volleyball career at KCB Women’s Volleyball Team where she had a short stint before moving to Kenya Pipeline. At Kenya Pipeline, Wanja established herself as a household name in Kenyan volleyball, taking over the setter position from Serenge and Liyali and going on to win four consecutive local league titles with the team from 2014 to 2017.
She was in the Kenyan team that won a historic FIVB World Grand Prix title in Australia in 2015. She also played volleyball with Kenya at the highest level globally. The setter played in two editions of the FIVB World Championship with Kenya (2006 and 2008), and played in three editions of FIVB World Cup (2007, 2011, and 2015), as well as at the 2004 Olympic Games.
Kenya setter Janet Wanja reacts during the match against Senegal.
Wanja also played in five editions of the Africa Women’s Volleyball Championship with Kenya (2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, and 2015) as well as in two editions of the FIVB World Grand Prix (2013 and 2015).
In all the tournaments she competed in, Wanja served the nation as a setter the best way she knew how.
She won the continental titles with Kenya in 2005 in Nigeria, where they beat the hosts 3-1 sets, and in 2007 in Nairobi where Kenya defeated Algeria 3-0 sets in the final to triumph. She would again win the continental title with Kenya in 2011 in Nairobi, where hosts Kenya beat Algeria 3-1 sets before again helping Kenya to beat Cameroon 3-0 sets in the 2013 tournament held in Nairobi.
For the 11 years she played for Kenya, her electrifying performances were not devoid of entertainment. On almost all the occasions when Kenya won a title, especially on home soil, Wanja and her teammates would perform a jig at matches.
Malkia Strikers
Her last engagement with Malkia Strikers was as a trainer at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. She served in the same capacity at the FIVB Challenger Cup from July 4 to 7 in Manila, the Philippines.
On Friday, her younger brother Kevin Kimani who plays for Mathare United in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League, broke the news of her death.
“The family of Janet Wanja would like to announce her passing after a brave battle with cancer. Our sincere and deepest gratitude goes out to the Kenya Pipeline Company for walking the journey with us from the beginning, and tirelessly providing all she needed in medical support. A special thank you to all our friends, Kenya Volleyball Federation, National Olympic Committee Kenya and Football Kenya Federation. Further updates shall be provided,” Kimani, who plays for Mathare United in the Kenyan Premier League, said in a statement on Friday morning.
Wanja has been undergoing treatment at MP Shah Hospital in Nairobi. In the final days of her life, she was put on palliative care at her house. Her body has been moved to Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home on Mbagathi Way, Nairobi.
Former Kenyan international Janet Wanja, now the women's team trainer at Nyayo National Stadium, was seen on January 11, 2024, as the team prepared for the All-African Games qualifiers.
Wanja, 40 was born in Kahawa Garrison Barracks in Nairobi. She was the second-born child to John Mungai and Serah Mungai. Her siblings are Simon, Kimani, Linda (Nurse in England), and Esther. She joined Kahawa Primary School in 1991, and later joined Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School in Kakamega County in 1999.
Like other children born at Kahawa Garrison Barracks, Wanja would join Kahawa Garrison Youth volleyball team in training in the evenings under the veteran coach Juma Wakhulu.
Wanja trained alongside former Malkia strikers libero Elizabeth Wanyama, twins Florence (Nairobi Prisons and Parliament coach)and Elijah Bosire (Kenya Ports Authority), and Nancy Wakhulu, just to name but a few players.
Walukhu encouraged Wanja’s parents to allow her to train as a setter.
“I stayed at the Barracks and with the coaching knowledge I had, I decided to train children who stayed around the Barracks and Wanja was one of them. I remember I told her father (Mungai) that since he was a footballer, he should allow Wanja to play volleyball and he agreed,” Wakhulu remembers.
“Since I knew the principal of Mukumu Girls High School and Lugulu Girls High School at the time, I would suggest players to join the schools. The two schools were rivals and each one of them wanted good players. Wanja had shown immense growth in the setting department and she was admired by many when finished her primary school education, I took her to Mukhumu where her star rose.”
At Mukhumu, Wanja was part of the team that muscled for the national title against Lugulu. She was in the team that beat Lugulu 3-0 sets to win the national title in 2000 in Malindi. It was no surprise when she was drafted into the national team for the 20024 Athens Olympics. Wanja would later become a mainstay in the national team before retiring in 2017.
National team
When Wanja joined the national team, she faced stiff competition from regulars Judith Serenge and Rhoda Liyali but in 2006, when Jane Wacu joined the team, Serenge and Liyali paved the way.
Wacu who is currently away in Seychelles said they had a healthy competition with Wanja that saw them play for the team for over ten years unmatched.
“I first met Wanja during the National Secondary School Games in 2002 at the Kakamega High School. She was in three while I was in form one. I was playing for Tetu High School, while she turned up for Mukumu. I then later saw her play for Kenya Pipeline in 2004 during the Kenya Volleyball Federation National League at the Kamukunji grounds in Nyeri. I remember she was fresh from competing at the Olympic Games,” said Wacu.
“I admired her. And luckily after clearing secondary school, I joined Kenya Pipeline although on a short stint before I crossed over to Kenya Prisons. This is where our rivalry took centre stage because we were in different clubs but everyone wanted to be named in the national team. And in all call-ups we made the cut. So it was either her or me starting the match and whoever the coach would chose to start the match it really didn’t bother the substitute,” Wacu added
With two World Championship appearances (2006,2018), three World Cups (2007,2011,2015), two Olympics (2004,2024), five African Women’s Volleyball Championships (2005,2007,2011,2013,2015) and the World Grand Prix (2013, 2015) Wanja served the nation the best way she knew how.
Wanja formed part of the team that bagged Africa titles in the 2005 event that was held in Nigeria, where they beat the hosts 3-1, in 2007 in Nairobi Kenya defeated Algeria 3-0 in the final, as well as in 2011 where hosts Kenya beat Algeria3-1 before they defeated Cameroon 3-0 in 2013.
In 2015 Kenya once again beat Algeria 3-0 at home and that would be the last time Wanja played for Kenya at the African Championship.
Wanja was part of the Malkia Strikers that won the historic FIVB World Grand Prix in 2015 in Australia and that would definitely be the highlight of her career.
Under the experienced coach, David Lung’aho Kenya beat Australia to bag the maiden title on the world stage.
Assistant captain
But on the flip side, Wanja who was assistant captain to Brackcides Agala at the time, were later expelled from the team for reportedly leading the team on a go slow in Australia after the team failed to get their allowances in time.
In 2016, before the Olympic qualifiers in Cameroon, Wanja and Agala were dropped from Malkia Strikers team and the team later failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics in what many believed that their inclusion in the team would have made all the difference since the team was just fresh from winning the Grand Prix.
Wanja and Agala were recalled a few months later for inter-continental Olympic qualifiers in Italy but Kenya failed to qualify losing all matches against Belgium, Netherlands and Belgium.
Kenya Prisons women's volleyball team starlet Jane Wacu (left), sharing moments with Kenya Pipeline women's volleyball team starlet Janet Wanja (right), during the Afya two volleyball tournament on August 25, 2013, at Nakuru Day Secondary School.
Wanja then called it day in the national team but continued to play for Kenya Pipeline.
In 2014,2015,2016 and 2017, Wanja was a paramount figure as Kenya Pipeline won the local National League but they failed to stamp their authority at the African Clubs Championship, where Pipeline last won the title in 2005 where she was part of the team.
Pipeline came close to reclaiming the title in 2015 in Egypt but the Oilers succumbed to Ahly 3-1 in the finals in what Wanja said was total theft.
Wanja on record said the officials of the match were biased in their officiating.
After retiring from the national team, Wanja was still willing to play for the club but in 2019, she wanted out and she later joined Kenya Pipeline Company as a gym instructor where she served until her untimely death.
