Priest who died in plane crash also lost two brothers to road accidents

The wreckage of the Ethiopian Airline that killed 157 people. [Maxwell Agwanda/Standard]

When George Mukua Kageche embarked on a journey from Italy to Kenya on Saturday night, he was looking forward to re-uniting with his family.

Fr Kageche, who has been in Rome for the last one year, had a wonderful flight up to Addis Ababa, Ethioipia.

This is where he was supposed to get a connecting flight to Nairobi.

In Addis Ababa, Kageche boarded the Ethiopian plane at around 7:40am at Bole Airport.

But, his hopes of meeting his family were dashed after the plane crashed a few minutes after take-off.

The priest was travelling to the country for his annual leave. His cousin Gerald Wanjara, also a priest, told The Standard he had talked with Kageche at around midnight when he was about to leave Rome.

High spirits

“I talked to him when he was in the flight as he departed from Rome. He said he will be in the country the following day. He was in high spirits," said Fr Wanjara.

He added that the family was yet to come to terms with the death of their kin, more so, after one of his brothers died in January last year in a road accident in Kampala, Uganda.

Three years ago, Kageche lost yet another brother, also, in a road accident.

“As a family, we are yet to come to terms with his sudden death. The situation is very sad and traumatising. It is hard to believe that he is gone forever,” Wanjara said.

He is survived by two sisters. His parents are deceased.

Kageche, 40, who hails from Kamburu village in Lari Constituency, Kiambu County, was ordained a priest in December 2017.

He was first a missionary from the Congregation of Marianhill.

He studied in South Africa for 10 years before coming back to Kenya for two years. He was ordained as a priest moments later.

After his ordination, he was sent to the Marianhills central offices in Rome. The Rome office coordinates the activities of the congregation in the world.

Wanjara said the burial preparations have not yet started because the family is waiting for DNA tests that will aid in identifying Fr Kageche's body.

"When the body arrives the plans will start," the family said.

The Sunday morning plane crash claimed the lives of 157 people among them 32 Kenyans. The passengers were from 35 nations.