Sister of tycoon Cleophas Shimanyula lashes out at friends who ignored family during kin’s funeral
The late Simon Michael Shimanyula, brother to Kakamega tycoon Cleophas Shimanyula was buried at the weekend following his untimely death.
His family did not reveal the cause of death.
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Ms Dianah Shimanylah, the sister to Cleophas and the late Simon, first revealed her brother’s demise on August 30, 2023, on Facebook, when she cried and said she did not know how she would begin saying ‘rest in peace’ in regard to her brother.
Prior to the late Simon’s burial, Ms Shimanyula hit out at church members and some friends who abandoned them during their time of need.
“Pata shida jua who is your friend and who pretend to be your friend. Usiwe mwepesi kusaidia watu na watu wenyewe waezi jitolea ata kukuambia pole.Roho Mzuri achana nayo lesson learned. (Find yourself in problems and you will know who is your friend and who is pretending to be your friend. Don’t be quick to help people when they won’t sacrifice for you or even come and condole with you. Forget about having a good heart). Rest in peace bro 😭,” said Ms Shimanyula yesterday.
In a quick follow-up, she also thanked church members from their local church for not coming to the burial or to visit with the family. However, she thanked her spiritual father, Apostle Ken Baraza for coming and for “being the best shepherd anyone can pray to have.” She went ahead and prayed for his blessings.
She finally posted a photo of herself crying during the burial and captioned it, “It is not easy.” Her friends and family offered their condolences to her and the family and prayed for comfort in the Lord.
It remains unknown why the people being targeted by Ms Shimanyula’s message chose to stay away despite the family being well off and being able to cater for funeral costs without the common practices of community fundraising for burial costs. Some people tend to find fundraising activities a burden and often stay away from such events.
Cleophas Shimanyula, in his own right, is a tycoon who has his hands in many commercial industries including long-distance bus transportation, has a fleet of matatus plying the Kakamega-Kisumu route, is the owner of Kenya Premier League side Home Boyz Football Club, real estates, construction and farming. He is believed to have employed over 200 people and at one time, claimed he was in a position to lend Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale Sh 200 million and eight Toyota Prados for his 2022 gubernatorial campaigns.
He also has several contracts with Kakamega County to keep the county’s roads clean.
This is not the first time Ms Shimanyula hit out at people for giving her a wide berth. In April 2022, she and Dennis Opiyo Pape had a luxurious wedding in Kakamega County but she later hit out at some of her friends for letting her down and backbiting her days after the wedding.
According to prior Nairobi News reports, she said, “At the time they needed me, I was available to last min (minute)… instead of returning the favor, they are the ones on the front line tarnishing my name…. this world punguza roho mzuri (don’t have a ready good heart)…No one is always happy when you progress… I leave it to the Lord.”