- He said the last time they met with Rita was on Ash Wednesday at the All Saints Cathedral where they were attending mass.
- However, due to the tight nature of the services, they engaged briefly and agreed to catch up at a later time.
Image: ENOS TECHE
Citizen TV's director of strategy and innovation has mourned the late journalist Rita Tinina as a jewel of the newsroom.
Paying his tribute during Tinina's requiem mass on Monday, he described her as a reliable journalist who had a good attitude towards her work.
Kaikai noted that despite having come from the village, Rita did not allow the urban life to 'pollute' her rural upbringing.
"Rita withstood the polluting side of Nairobi and she died intact, success fame and money did not distort who she was," Kaikai said.
He said before joining Nation Media Group in 2009 as the Managing Editor of the broadcasting division, he had interacted with Rita in the field covering news.
It was when the two worked closely that he got to learn about Rita's journalist attributes such as her strong scripting skills and her legendary ability to beat deadlines.
"But one attribute always stood out for me, her disposition, her general professional attitude, in journalism this is a big deal, a good attitude matters and Rita always displayed the very finest; this made her the jewel of the newsroom," Kaikai said.
On Tinina's physical attributes, Kaikai described her as a beautiful, smart and impeccable dresser.
He said Rita had a sense of fashion and preferred business-like suits even though she had days she would dress in jeans and trousers for a rough news-gathering assignment.
"Rita was beautiful, secondly she was smart mentally and physically, Rita was an impeccable dresser, fashion was her friend, she favoured serious business like suits and trendy even if with feminine cuts," he said.
He said the last time they met with her was on Ash Wednesday at the All Saints Cathedral where they were attending mass.
However, due to the tight nature of the services, they engaged briefly and agreed to catch up at a later time.
"We agreed to catch up soon. It was never to happen, never the less, I will always hold to many great memories of one of the finest human souls," he eulogised.
Tinina, who has been eulogised as an accomplished journalist died in her last week. Autopsy results showed she died of severe pneumonia.
The journalist has left behind her daughter, Mia Malaikah and partner Robert.
She will be buried at her family home at Noosupeni Farm Olokirikirai, Narok on Wednesday, March 27.