Nun had no child, family of crash victim states

Mary Yongi (center) is consoled by friends at Langa Langa Estate in Nakuru town on March 11, 2019.Her sister Florence Yongi, a nun, was among those who perished in the Ethiopian Airlines crash. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

The family of a nun who died aboard the Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday has dismissed claims that the Catholic nun had a child.

Mary Yongi, a sister to Florence Wangari Yongi, who died alongside 156 others, dismissed the claims, saying it was a case of misinterpreting information.

The family said they had hired Peter Kimani, a taxi driver, to ferry them to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where they were to pick Wangari, who was a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Kimani, Ms Yongi said, posed for a photo with her daughter Gloria Nduta while at JKIA awaiting communication over the plane crash.

“Florence is the third-born child in our family of seven. The information published, however, insinuates that Gloria is her daughter. Gloria is my daughter and we had gone to pick Florence at the airport,” Yongi said.

The family that lives in Mbogoini village in Subukia said Wangari left the country six years ago but had been in constant communication with them.

“The last time I communicated with her was at 7:43am when she told me she was boarding the flight from Ethiopia,” Yongi said.