During the 9 pm broadcast, NTV news anchor Smriti Vidyarthi found herself unable to contain her tears while reporting on Rita Tinina's funeral. As she attempted to gather her thoughts, Smriti read through the next few paragraphs of the broadcast, her voice breaking with emotion.
The sight of tear streaks tracing down her face, accompanied by painful sniffles, was truly heart-wrenching, signaling the profound impact of her colleague's passing on Smriti.
As the camera panned back to her in the studio, Smriti fell silent, tears streaming down her face without restraint. Clearly overtaken by grief, she found it challenging to compose herself and resume the bulletin.
"May Rita rest in peace," she managed to utter emotionally, her voice wavering as she pressed on, her sorrow palpable to viewers.
Rita Tinina, a seasoned journalist, passed away last Wednesday. Her remains were transported from Umash Funeral Home to Noosupeni farm in Olokirikirai, Narok County, where she will be laid to rest.
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Rita's close friends made a special request for her body to be transported in a black Range Rover hearse.
During her requiem mass on Monday, NTV senior reporter Duncan Khaemba revealed that Rita was set to celebrate her 46th birthday on Thursday with her girlfriends. However, her untimely passing thwarted those plans. To honor her memory, her friends arranged for her coffin to be carried in a Range Rover hearse.
"Rita and her girlfriends had planned a road trip in a Range Rover. The forefronts being Judy, Qz, Njambi, and Njeri, have asked the family to fulfill that end of the bargain, so they hired a Range Rover Hearse to have that final road trip with Rita. Unfortunately, it will be from the morgue to her home in Narok," Khaemba stated.
In the motorcade, a black Range Rover hearse carrying Rita's casket is prominently featured, adorned with raised wings and a front adorned with v-shaped flowers.
Subsequently, there appeared to be a change of vehicles for reasons not disclosed.
Family members, friends, representatives from the national government, politicians, and colleagues from various media outlets will all gather to bid farewell to Tinina.
On March 17, Tinina was found deceased in her residence in the Kileleshwa neighborhood of Nairobi. According to the autopsy report, her passing was attributed to severe pneumonia. She is survived by her eight-year-old daughter.
