"You were a kind man," Cheruiyot Kirui's family pays tribute to late mountaineer

Kirui, 40, was attempting to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen. He fell into a crevasse 48 meters below the 8,849-meter peak with his Nepali guide, Nawang Sherpa.

The family said retrieving Kirui's body from such a high altitude would be too risky for the rescue team.

While the body of the banker and celebrated mountaineer rests at the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, thousands of miles from home, family and friends gathered at Nairobi's Citam, Valley Road, to pay tribute.

Kirui's colleagues at the Kenya Commercial Bank, where he worked until his death, some mountaineers with whom they conquered mountains including Mount Kenya together, eulogised Cheruiyot as the best at what he did. 

And in what was a stark departure from the norm, the service went on without a coffin, as his family had requested that his remains stay at Mt. Everest.

His parents, Wilson Kenduiywo and Ruth Kenduiywo, put on a brave face as they eulogised their beloved son, his father only urging parents to pay close attention to their children's character when raising them.

"As we raise our children, we don't know what they will become in the future. But the main thing is, when you are raising children, remember two things; character and hard work. If you can get that, then you will be good," Mr Kenduiywo said. 

His mother, still unable to talk about the death of her son, instead dedicated one of the hymns that was her favourite to her son - Blessed Assurance.

Present to pay tributes too was his daughter Cherotich, she said: "You are a very good dad. You helped us in hard times and we thank you for so much, and we will forever miss you. And if you ever miss me, just know that I am with you."

Kirui's partner Nakhulo Brenda also paid tributes, describing her man as romantic and also sharing several anecdotes of their rosy love life.

"I remember our first Valentine's together, he forewarned me and told me, Nakhulo, I am a Kalenjin man. Do not expect flowers from me. Do not expect any cakes from me...Cheruiyot, I am gonna miss your random pancake and tea sessions...I will miss our drives to Kasarani to buy goat meat for your special recipes," Nakhulo eulogised.

"You are a kind man, intelligent, smart. You had a sense of humour and most importantly, you showed me what it means to be loved, I will miss you greatly," she added. 

On Instagram, Nakhulo continued to wax lyrical about Kirui's best qualities, while at the same time expressing her pain on the insurmountable loss.

She wrote: "I've known Cheruiyot for the past three years; we started dating in 2021 after a few months of running dates and dinners."

"There's a stereotype that Kalenjin men aren't romantic, but I'd like to dispel that myth. Cheruiyot always did his best to make me happy, surprising me with cakes after an argument, with messages like "Lost Best," "Just Because," and "It's Cake Time." 

"On our first Valentine's Day together, he told me he wasn't into traditional celebrations. Yet later that day, he texted me saying he'd bought plants for me to grow and nurture, a gesture that melted my heart."

In the heartfelt treatise, she also took time to remind his daughter, Cherotich, that her father was a good man and a doting dad, too.

"He spoke fondly of his daughter, and it was heartwarming to hear all the plans he had for her. Cherotich, your dad was a good man. Kirui, you ghosted me. You left our WhatsApp group, leaving me here wondering what's next..." she wrote.

An avid mountaineer, Kirui had dared to become the first African - and Kenyan - to conquer Mt Everest without supplementary oxygen. Unfortunately, his dream did not come to fruition.