Eliud Mbilu

Eliud Simon Mbilu was the longest serving commander of the Kenyan Navy from 1978 until his retirement in 1988.

Eliud Simon Mbilu
Major General Eliud Mbilu
BornMombasa County
DiedNairobi
Allegiance Kenya
Service/branchKenya Navy
RankMajor General
Commands heldCommander, Kenya Navy
Alma materBritannia Royal Naval College

Early life

Simon Mbilu was born the eldest of six siblings in 1942 in Mombasa, an island town of the Indian Ocean coast of Kenya. His father, John Kithuku Ndunda,[1][2] then working for the Kenya Railway, moved back to his ancestral village of Mulango in Kitui County[3] when Mbilu was two years old.

Education

Simon Mbilu attended Kitui Primary School and then Kitui High School. He was later accepted to Shimo La Tewa High School where he completed form five and six at the top of his class. He applied and was accepted to Makerere University where he intended to study Law.

At this time, Kenya was a new country and had just attained independence. The Kenya Armed Forces was on a quest to recruit the country's top talent and as a result he was subsequently drafted into the Kenya Navy.

He was also able to attain further training and studies at the Britannia Royal Naval College under the sponsorship of the Kenyan navy.

Career

In 1978, The first Kenya Navy Commander Lieutenant Colonel Kimaro was killed in a road accident; Mbilu, a Major at the time took over the command of the Navy as Major E S Mbilu.[4] He served for ten years until his retirement in 1988 where he was replaced by Brigadier JRE Kibwana.

After his navy career, he also served briefly as chairman of the Kenya Airports Authority.

In 1994, he was appointed by former President Daniel arap Moi to serve in the Commission of Inquiry into the Mtongwe ferry disaster[5] headed by Justice Msagha Mbogholi.[6]

Family

Simon Mbilu's first wife was Avia Kavutha Mbilu (deceased)[7] with whom he had one son, Peter Mbilu (deceased), and five daughters namely, Marie, Nancy, Julie (deceased),[8] Esther and Betty. Later on, in his retirement when he settled in his native Mulango, Kitui, he had a second wife, Eunice, with whom he lived with until his death. He had no children with the second wife.

Squabbles between his second wife and the children of his first wife saw his interment delayed for months.[9][10]

Death

Eliud Mbilu died on April 30, 2017, after a long battle with cancer at MP Shah Hospital in Nairobi.[11]

References
  1. Kenya, Obituary (2017-05-11). "Major General (Rtd) Eliud Simon Mbilu". Obituary Kenya. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  2. "Succession Cause 479 of 2018 - Kenya Law". kenyalaw.org. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  3. "Kenya: Sons and Daughters of Kitui".
  4. "Kenya Navy Memorable Events". Archived from the original on 1 July 2007.
  5. "Kenya Gazette" (PDF). 10 May 1994.
  6. Beja, Patrick. "Who is sinking Mombasa ferry services and why?". The Standard. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  7. admin (2013-01-08). "A Kenyan lady passes away in Dallas Texas". Diaspora Messenger News Media. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  8. Kenya, Obituary (2021-06-16). "Julie Syomiti Mbilu". Obituary Kenya. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  9. "Succession Cause 575 of 2017 - Kenya Law". kenyalaw.org. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  10. "Why body of former Navy Commander is stuck in city hospital". Nairobi News. 2017-08-28. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  11. "Why body of former Navy Commander is stuck in city hospital".
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