Eliud Simon Mbilu was the longest serving commander of the

Kenyan Navy The Kenya Navy is the navy, 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 Archipela ...

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 the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

, an island town of the Indian Ocean coast of

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. 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 a county in the former Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Kitui, although Mwingi is also another major urban centre. The county has a population of 1,136,187 (2019 census). and an area of 30,430 km2. ...

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 Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

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 Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

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 A ...

. 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. 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)