by Nyagaka H Nyakundi
The news about Claire Adhiambo's mysterious demise struck me-and indeed all of us present at the hospital that afternoon to visit her -as painfully as a hornet's sting.
It was January 24,2011,a busy day for us at Bamboo Media Group(BMG) in whose formation Ms Adhiambo had played a crucial part.This was going to be a busier day with so much to discuss about underway shoots.But with the news that our colleague had not responded to medication yet,we collectively resolved to shelf our plans to visit her.
At about noon Edwin Tiego,Ronald Nyakweba ,Maryanne Ochieng' and myself left for the Kenyatta National Hospital(KNH) where Ms Adhiambo had been hospitalized for a while.And as fate would have it,we were the first group of visitors to receive the sad news:she had passed on three hours before our arrival.The announcement,made by a very unruffled doctor,struck us hard.All of us were visibly shaken,dazed,bewildered.A young lady who had not joined us in the briefing room broke down as soon as she learnt the sad news through us outside .
I first met the late Adhiambo in 2009,shortly after my fortunate admission into the Kenya Polytechnic University College to pursue my journalism dream.And as if that was what fate had ordained,I was organized into the same classroom with her.However,our friendship did not spark immediately.Given my raising at the heart of a hamlet in the outskirts of a rural town,I was quick to dismiss her as one of those flashy,snobbish girls Nairobi harbored.Consequently,I eschewed her ,kept her at arms length,and never venturedbeyond her always warm greetings .
However,a few months into the course,I was struck by her humility and amity.She raised smiles wherever she went,her very presence in our classroom causing a sort of ambience that-if nobody else did-I at least felt.Adhiambo was inquisitive,talkative and at all whimsical.Adhiambo lived her life with unparalleled passion,which suddenly started to seep away,or so I saw, after 2010.
But to return to the robust Adhiambo with whom I fell into great friendship,this is why am going to miss her.Sometime in June last year,shortly after we completed our journalism course,she was in the number of tens of enthusiastic former students of the Kenya Polytechnic University College class of 2009/2011,eager to form an entrepreneurship outfit which we afterward named Bamboo Media Group (BMG).Now I was not present physically on that day to know who suggested we use "Bamboo".But from my close and yet discreet association with Ms Adhiambo ,I had come to note her love of the bamboo tree.She loved yellow and green.And she often dressed in yellow and green clothes.She once had a yellow phone and studs.To her the bamboo tree and its colors was a symbol of resilience and hope.
For those of us who were fortunate to be in contact with her , especially at BMG we mourn this unbearable loss of an untimely death. But at a personal level,I will forever miss her easy laughs,witty humor and adorable humility.Rest in Peace,Unforgettable ,madam.
