By STEVENS MUENDO
On Sunday, top celebrities, media personalities and hundreds of fans across Africa joined family members in mourning the deaths of celebrated Kiss TV presenter Ruhila Adatia and Ghanaian poet and diplomat, Kofi Awoonor, who were caught up in the Westgate Mall attack on Saturday.
The Ghanaian government confirmed Awoonor’s death early Sunday morning.
Awoonor was in Nairobi to speak at the Storymoja Hay Festival, a four-day celebration of writing, thinking and storytelling — when the attack — for which Somali militant group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility — occurred.
Condolence messages to Ruhila’s family poured in from her former Radio Africa colleagues including Caroline Mutoko, Churchill, Kalekye Mumo and Shaffie Weru.
The local media personalities expressed their grief following Ruhila’s shocking death from gunshot wounds.
“Such a sad day for Kenya and for Radio Africa. Rest in peace Ruhila Adatia. Words alone cannot begin to explain the shock I’m in,” celebrated radio presenter, actress and musician Kalekye Mumo mourned, minutes after the Kiss E-News presenter succumbed to her wounds after she was rushed to the Aga Khan University Hospital in Parklands, Nairobi.
“My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased. Rest in peace Ruhila Adatia,” a shocked Churchill commented.
The beauty had cut a niche for herself in the local media thanks to her popular Kiss TV E-News segment as well as her East FM drive show.
At the time of going to press, 64 people had been confirmed dead and 175 hospitalised with injuries following the terror attack, the first of its kind to happen in Kenya.
Heavily armed attackers captured the busy uptown mall mid Saturday morning and put the mall under siege with heavy gunfire and grenade blasts occasioning what was to become one of the deadliest attacks ever to be experienced in Kenya.
