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

Early life

Simon Mbilu was born the eldest of six siblings in 1942 in

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, an island town of the Indian Ocean coast of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. His father, John Kithuku Ndunda, then working for the Kenya Railway, moved back to his ancestral village of Mulango in

Kitui County Kitui County is one of the 47 counties of Kenya in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kitui. Mwingi is also another major urban centre. The county has a population of about 1.2 million people (as of 2024)Ny ...

when Mbilu was two years old.

Education

Simon Mbilu attended Kitui Primary School and then Kitui 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 Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

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 The Kenya Navy is the naval branch of the Kenya Defence Forces. It is headquartered in Mombasa. Kenya Navy has two major bases for its fleet with it being headquartered in Mtongwe Naval Base, Mombasa and Manda Bay (part of Lamu Archipelag ...

. He was also able to attain further training and studies at the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, also known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

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 Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

at the time took over the command of the Navy as Major E S Mbilu. 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 Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is the owner and operator of nine civilian airports and airstrips in Kenya. Kenya Airports Authority was established by an act of Parliament in 1992, by the ruling Kenya African National Union government. The KAA ...

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

Family

Simon Mbilu's first wife was Avia Kavutha Mbilu (deceased) with whom he had one son, Peter Mbilu (deceased), and five daughters namely, Marie, Nancy, Julie (deceased), 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. Renowned model, designer and LGBTQ activist Biko Beauttah is Mbilu's grandchild. Squabbles between his second wife and the children of his first wife saw his interment delayed for months.

Death

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mbilu, E S Kenyan military personnel People from Mombasa Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)