Gavungwanyi Soliani village in Gisambai location, Vihiga County is grieving the death of football maestro, Joe Kadenge.

Kadenge played for Maragoli United and scored the fastest ever goal in the Kenyan Premier League with Abaluhya Football Club in 1966.

This was after he made a comeback to football after hanging his boots in 1965, guiding Harambee Stars to win the inaugural East and Central Africa Challenge Cup. In 1970, Kadenge stepped down as a player and went into coaching and was later appointed the national team’s heads coach.

He is survived by two widows, 11 children (two deceased) and over 30 grandchildren.

In an interview yesterday with his first wife, Mable Kamonya Kadenge aged 82, she described Kadenge as a loving husband who cared for his family, saying he was strict and a disciplinarian.

The widow said she received the news when she had gone to church to pray, saying they were informed on Sunday morning at 2am that he had been rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

“Today I went to the church and informed the pastoral office that my husband had been admitted at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Nairobi and wanted the pastor to pray for his quick recovery. The service had just started when my daughter in law told me he had died around 11am,” said Ms Kadenge.

Ms Kadenge said despite the fame her husband enjoyed as a football star, he was always available for his family and that he was loved by all at home and nationally.

“Joe was my man, the love of my youth. When he was ailing, I could feel the pain he was going through and I could cry out silently in my sleep. I wish Joe would have buried me instead of me burying him. The family and Kenyans still needed him around,” said the widow as she broke into tears.

Kadenge is remembered as one of the greatest Kenyan footballers who put the country into the map of sports.