LILIAN AMIMO LUHOMBO OLEMBO EULOGY
June 25, 2021
by Uduak Amimo
Born to the late Professor Reuben James Olembo and the late Professor Norah Khadzini Olembo, Lilian Amimo Luhombo Olembo was the baby of the Olembo family. Her father gave her the name Amimo in honour of his grandmother, and the name Luhombo after her aunt, Rtd. Lady Justice Effie Owuor. But it was Amimo that many of her family and friends knew her by. That name spawned several derivatives, among them, Mims, Mimo and Mimi.
Amimo entered the world on September 25th, 1975. Along with her older siblings, Kenny, the late Caroline and Andeyo, Amimo spent her childhood in Nairobi. If Reuben and Norah were the parents, then Kenny and Carol were the deputy parents.
Amimo attended Loreto Convent Msongari from kindergarten to Form 4. It was at Msongari that her creativity became apparent. Amimo drew, painted, acted, sang and danced. She thrived on stage, thrived in performing and thrived in the limelight. She choreographed school plays at Msongari and elsewhere as she developed her career in the performing arts. She was also a strong athlete, winning competitions in swimming and tennis, many of them for her school’s Ball House, which she captained. From the annual plays at Msongari, Amimo moved on to the stage of Phoenix Players during her gap year between Form 4 and her entry into university.
In 1999, Amimo graduated from Northern Kentucky University in Louisville, Kentucky with a degree in Industrial Design and a minor in Anthropolgy. It was also at NKU that Amimo joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, whose mission is to support the African American community. It was to her that many new African students turned to for support settling into the university’s sprawling campus. Her summer visits back to Kenya were always welcome because Amimo’s generous spirit meant that she shopped well for everyone she loved, which in turn meant that those people she’d shopped for shined brightly like diamonds on nights out at Carnivore because she was also great with hair and makeup. Her standards meant that everyone around her looked like they’d stepped out of a music video.
Amimo returned to Kenya in 2005 when her beloved father died. It was a loss that was difficult for her. Nonetheless, her career as a dancer and choreographer soared over the next couple of years. She choreographed and performed in Sitawa Namwalie's Cut Off My Tongue tour that performed at the 2009 Hay Festival and Hampstead Theatre in the UK to standing ovations. She went on to choreograph and perform in the musical Out of Africa: Safari Through Magical Kenya, which toured Europe in 2012.
Amimo loved dogs. She’d have them everywhere. She was diligent about their feeding and care, their visits to the vet. Not everyone around her understood!
In September 2011, Amimo lost her elder sister Caroline and her cousin- brother Joe on consecutive days to cancer. She had spent months in Norway looking after Caroline and both losses were deeply felt.
The family home in Lavington was often the place for Christmas and New Years’ parties, for which she would do the cooking. Amimo loved to feed people! She loved hosting and having people visit.
Around 2010, Amimo’s beloved mum was diagnosed with a progressive cognitive illness. Amimo, Andeyo and Kenny became their mother’s carer. A cancerous tumour hastened her decline and she died in March this year.
So, the last couple of years were heavy for Amimo. As a talented creative, she came with the sensitivity that most creatives come with and it is clear that Amimo felt these losses deeply.
On Friday, 11th June 2021, Amimo was rushed to a hospital in Lavington having collapsed. This was the day after what would have been her mother’s birthday. Her cousins Amanda and Claire moved her to Kenyatta Hospital the following day. She was diagnosed with pneumonia and after an initial appeal for blood, appeared to be responding well to treatment. She developed sepsis the following Thursday and on Monday, 22nd June 2021, took her final breath.
Caring for others was a part of Amimo’s DNA. She was a dancing angel whose mission was to love everything and everyone into submission. She was a talented artist, a beautiful woman, a wonderful friend; a loving and beloved sister, daughter and cousin.
She will be missed very much. May her soul rest in peace.
Amimo entered the world on September 25th, 1975. Along with her older siblings, Kenny, the late Caroline and Andeyo, Amimo spent her childhood in Nairobi. If Reuben and Norah were the parents, then Kenny and Carol were the deputy parents.
Amimo attended Loreto Convent Msongari from kindergarten to Form 4. It was at Msongari that her creativity became apparent. Amimo drew, painted, acted, sang and danced. She thrived on stage, thrived in performing and thrived in the limelight. She choreographed school plays at Msongari and elsewhere as she developed her career in the performing arts. She was also a strong athlete, winning competitions in swimming and tennis, many of them for her school’s Ball House, which she captained. From the annual plays at Msongari, Amimo moved on to the stage of Phoenix Players during her gap year between Form 4 and her entry into university.
In 1999, Amimo graduated from Northern Kentucky University in Louisville, Kentucky with a degree in Industrial Design and a minor in Anthropolgy. It was also at NKU that Amimo joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, whose mission is to support the African American community. It was to her that many new African students turned to for support settling into the university’s sprawling campus. Her summer visits back to Kenya were always welcome because Amimo’s generous spirit meant that she shopped well for everyone she loved, which in turn meant that those people she’d shopped for shined brightly like diamonds on nights out at Carnivore because she was also great with hair and makeup. Her standards meant that everyone around her looked like they’d stepped out of a music video.
Amimo returned to Kenya in 2005 when her beloved father died. It was a loss that was difficult for her. Nonetheless, her career as a dancer and choreographer soared over the next couple of years. She choreographed and performed in Sitawa Namwalie's Cut Off My Tongue tour that performed at the 2009 Hay Festival and Hampstead Theatre in the UK to standing ovations. She went on to choreograph and perform in the musical Out of Africa: Safari Through Magical Kenya, which toured Europe in 2012.
Amimo loved dogs. She’d have them everywhere. She was diligent about their feeding and care, their visits to the vet. Not everyone around her understood!
In September 2011, Amimo lost her elder sister Caroline and her cousin- brother Joe on consecutive days to cancer. She had spent months in Norway looking after Caroline and both losses were deeply felt.
The family home in Lavington was often the place for Christmas and New Years’ parties, for which she would do the cooking. Amimo loved to feed people! She loved hosting and having people visit.
Around 2010, Amimo’s beloved mum was diagnosed with a progressive cognitive illness. Amimo, Andeyo and Kenny became their mother’s carer. A cancerous tumour hastened her decline and she died in March this year.
So, the last couple of years were heavy for Amimo. As a talented creative, she came with the sensitivity that most creatives come with and it is clear that Amimo felt these losses deeply.
On Friday, 11th June 2021, Amimo was rushed to a hospital in Lavington having collapsed. This was the day after what would have been her mother’s birthday. Her cousins Amanda and Claire moved her to Kenyatta Hospital the following day. She was diagnosed with pneumonia and after an initial appeal for blood, appeared to be responding well to treatment. She developed sepsis the following Thursday and on Monday, 22nd June 2021, took her final breath.
Caring for others was a part of Amimo’s DNA. She was a dancing angel whose mission was to love everything and everyone into submission. She was a talented artist, a beautiful woman, a wonderful friend; a loving and beloved sister, daughter and cousin.
She will be missed very much. May her soul rest in peace.