The body of Hellen Wendy Nyabuto, the Kenyan woman who drowned in a swimming pool in Canada while on a Facebook live session arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Saturday, October 1, 2022, her family has confirmed.
Wendy's family had appealed to well-wishers to help repatriate her body to Kenya for burial.
At the time, her father, John Kiyondi Nyabuto expressed that he would find closure from his daughter's unexpected death after her body is repatriated.
“According to our tradition, one is supposed to be buried where he or she was born. I’ll not feel comfortable, psychologically, if my daughter is buried away from Kenya,” the 56-year-old man said.
The family created a Gofundme fundraiser on Sunday, August 21, to raise the funds amounting to Ksh6million.
Nyabuto expressed gratitude to the well-wishers who honoured the family's appeal and contributed the stated amount required for his daughter's repatriation.
"The journey to get our daughter's body back was long and difficult but with God's grace, we were finally able to do so. We had waited so long for her body that we even decided to go to Canada but the processes there were very complicated but all that is done now," he stated.
Wendy's body will be transported to Lee Funeral Home and later transported to her family home on Sunday, October 2, 2022, awaiting burial arrangements.
What happened to Wendy
Wendy died on August 18, 2022, in Collingwood, Ontario, after diving into the deep end of the swimming pool where she drowned after struggling to stay afloat.
Before the incident, the 24-year-old was exchanging pleasantries with friends through her Facebook page moments after hopping into the pool.
"Hi there, how are you? It's two o'clock here, I have just arrived home from work… I am doing okay, just having some fun," Wendy remarked.
Dressed in a fancy swimming costume, the youthful nursing student who was vibrantly engaging her friends in chit-chat was seen diving and returning back to the edge of the pool to respond to messages from her friends.
Moments after responding and diving back to the deep end of the pool, Wendy who was alone at the time of the incident, was heard screaming for help as she struggled to balance in the deep waters, she kicked and flapped her hands as she tried to get to the surface until she couldn't anymore.
The camera recording the incident remained still as it continuously recorded hours after her death.
It was at this moment that her friends and viewers discovered that she had drowned and died.
