Friends and foes use Chinua Achebe’s phrase “a man of the people” to describe Cedric Lumiti, who died yesterday aged 34, after a long battle with anaemia. He is survived by two sons and a daughter and lives behind a widow.
Despite his diminutive figure, he was a great communicator and public relations practitioner who saw molehills in mountains. He had a strong attitude, which would look domineering to cynics but inspiring to those in his trade. That is what got him the results that saw him rise in the media and public relations industry.“He was energetic, very intelligent and outgoing,” says Mr Noel Wandera, a close family friend and former boss at Gina Din Corporate Communication, where Lumiti started his PR career.
The youngman loved his drink – and football – though he didn’t look it. Locally, he supported AFC Leopards, perhaps by default being an ethnic Luhya from which the team draws its roots and fan base. In the popular English Premier League, he was a Manchester United diehard. Often, he would spot the trademark Man United red jersey, just to pass a point.
Before a Man U or Ingwe game, Lumiti defended his teams to the point of frothing at mouth. Occasionally, during these passionate arguments, a glass would accidentally fly off the table, spilling its contents as if cheering him on.
Mr Washington Akumu, a journalist-turned-public relations practitioner, described Lumiti as a man who was full of zest. “He was (also) astute at angling and pitching a story. On a pitch, he would be in his element: A persistent charmer, difficult to dismiss.”
Village boy turned media guru
A slight accent gave his baritone voice some oomph. This combined with an easy going attitude and excellent networking skills to make him the darling of PR agencies. Somehow, he had a way with media, just through talking and smiling. No wonder he worked for three media agencies in a span of just three years.
Born on November 4, 1981, Cedric Khabuchi Lumiti, attended Shiamusinjiri Primary School, then Musingu High School in Kakamega County. He then joined the East Africa School of Media Studies and studied journalism and communication. He was lucky to get a job at the defunct Kenya Times as a cub reporter in 2006, where he was mentored by then business editor Charles Mulila, and his deputy Mark Oloo, now an editor at the Sunday Standard.
His career followed a similar course as his colleagues on the desk at the time, such as Nick Thiong’o whom he ended up working with at Gina Din, and Mark Kapchanga who eventually became a business journalist at Daily Nation, then Standard. It is while at Kenya Times, that he met Mr Wandera.
“I saw a promising young man and offered him a job as a media manager at Gina Din,” says Mr Wandera. “Socialising was his greatest asset. He was short but easily noticed because of his voice,” he says. “He loved his job and wanted to finish his assignments. He loved his in-tray empty.”
A determined professional
The PR world noticed the rising star, and soon he was poached by Hill & Knowlton (H&K), a communications and PR firm based in Nairobi. He stayed there for some time, handling big-dollar accounts, before moving to Professional Marketing Services (PMS), where he worked until his death.
Mr Dennis Chebitwey, a former colleague at Gina Din, says Lumiti was a cool-head guy who had a bright future. “He is one of those guys you just like talking to. He could talk to anybody,” he said.
He had a positive outlook on life, says his long-time friend and former colleague at H&K, Rodgers Wabito. “It’s a big loss not only to the family, but media and PR industry as well.”
His determination in life was manifested in his quest for higher education. He financed his university education and graduated last year with a degree in communication from the University of Nairobi.
RIP, the bullfighter of the PR and media industry.
A version of this story has been published today in the Daily Nation.
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