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Family, friends and relatives convened at Lee Funeral Home on Saturday, April 4, 2020 to bid farewell to Kenya Airways pilot, Captain Daudi Kimuyu Kibati who was felled by Coronavirus earlier this week.
A video of the emotional moment shows several people lined up at the gate of the facility and clapping in celebration of the life of a brave patriot who flew the last flight from New York that is turning to be the epicentre of Covid-19.
He will be laid to rest later on in the day at Kavisuni village in Kitui in a ceremony to be attended by close family members and under strict government supervision.
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Kimuyu’s last flight has since been described as one of salvation that sought to airlift Kenyans back home in a last-minute dash to escape the devastation caused by the virus in the US.
He left Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on 22 March 2020, flying the Dreamliner Boeing 787 to New York.
He had a two-day layover in New York before returning to Nairobi in what was to be his last flight: A flight that reunited many families.
Upon returning to Kenya on 24 March 2020, Captain Kamuyu and the cabin crew went into mandatory quarantine at Ole Sereni hotel.
Four days later, he would develop bad fever that saw him rushed to The Nairobi Hospital where he was placed in an isolation unit after his test for coronavirus came back positive.
He lost the battle on Wednesday night as he was being put on life support at the age of 62.
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“We regret to announce the death of our colleague Captain Daudi Kimuyu Kibati which occurred on April 1, 2020. Until his demise he was a captain on the 787 fleet in operations department. On behalf of the board of directors, the management and the staff at Kenya Airways, we join the family of the late Captain Kibati in mourning their beloved one and pray that the Almighty God will strengthen them during this time of sorrow,” read a statement by KQ.