Remembering Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui: Family and friends celebrate the life and times of maverick mountaineer who died on Mt Everest

Family, friends, and fans of the late Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui gathered in a meeting hall at a church in Nairobi to celebrate and remember his life five days after his death on Mount Everest on Friday 24th.

At 8,800 metres, Kirui's body lay just 48 metres from the summit of the world's highest mountain, a peak he had attempted to scale without supplemental oxygen, a feat that would have made him the first Kenyan and African to do so. Kirui was 40 years old.

The date—Wednesday, May 29, 2024—when they met in St. James's meeting hall at the All Saints’ Cathedral coincided with the 71st anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist, and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese-Indian mountaineer.

It was the most fitting day for people to gather to pay tribute to a trailblazing Kenyan mountaineer and ultra-marathoner and the choice of St. James meeting hall as the venue of the gathering compounded the coincidence in a manner that exemplified the close relationship that Kirui shared with almost everyone in that room, the lives that he greatly touched and deeply inspired, and the understated reminder that a successful summit would have made Kirui the second Kenyan to summit Mount Everest.

David Kimutai Kirui, Cheruiyot Kirui's brother addresses the people who had gathered at St James Hall

It is well. Rest easy my friend. pic.twitter.com/Kx8eqNNf2n

— Mountain Stories (@j_muhia) May 24, 2024

The Kenyan psyche was on full display for those gathered at the All Saints' Cathedral in the St. James meeting hall on that calm Wednesday evening that ran into night, as people shared heartwarming tributes and narrated awe-inspiring stories about the late Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui.

Perhaps aware of the numerous factors that contribute to Kenyans' struggles with punctuality, the organisers implemented a convenient clock regulation, causing the meeting to commence at 5:58 p.m., two minutes earlier than the intended start time of 6 p.m.

They described Kirui as being an introverted person who came to life when someone introduced a discussion about hiking and running. They were also in awe of his endurance, which saw him accomplish superhuman feats like running up and down mountains effortlessly.

There was the suave and graceful Urban Swaras, the running club to which Kirui belonged after joining in 2014. The Early Birds of Syokimau evoke chilly morning runs. No name is as straightforward in spelling its goal as RunFit. Team Jasho strives for the end result: kits dripping with sweat. Outdoorers induce wanderlust. Nairobi Hash House Harriers portrays the worldwide expansion of the international running social club, which British soldiers founded in 1938 in Malaysia and jokingly refers to as a drinking club with a running addiction. Bucketlist Adventures recommends ticking off challenges. K North Running Group sparks curiosity, but it has the credentials to fit into the amalgamation of the running and hiking communities that admired and cherished the late Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui.

“In 2016, Joshua’s mountaineering stories inspired me to climb Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro. He once told me, ‘Davis, the day you start running, you will break all records.’ This prediction continues to challenge me and motivate me," says Davis Gitari, Urban Swaras.

Wamaitha Mwangi of Outdoorers said, "After he summited Elephant Hill and Kinangop and overlapped all hikers along the route, I stalked him to know who he really was because the things he did were out of this world."

“During COVID, Cheruiyot looked out for all of us. He checked in on us, and when he published his book, he personally delivered copies to the 300 people who bought it,” Joyce Nduku, alias Marathon Granny.

“I invite you all to do a run in Chepterit in honour of Joshua,” Vivian Kogo said, adding emphasis to Marathon Granny's proposal that the running and hiking communities unite and participate in legacy and charity projects in honour of Cheruiyot.

"I feel embarrassed that I didn't read his book while he was alive, despite having it with me all along." I only started reading it on Saturday, and his writing is amazing. There is a page where he talks about facing death in the mountains, and that was an eye-opener. Cheruiyot was someone who scared us yet we were so proud of him because of what he did and achieved," said Nick Mutesi.

“Cheruiyot reminds me of the things I have never done. We interacted so many times. I used to consult him before registering for numerous hikes and ultra-marathons. As usual, I would register for these events but never actually attend them. Additionally, we must give a hearty round of applause to Cheruiyot. Because of him, the whole country knows about Mount Everest and mountaineering,” says Munyaka Njiru, Bucketlist Adventures.

Munyaka Njiru from Bucket List Adventures speaks to the crowd that gathered to celebrate the life and times of Cheruiyot Kirui

Dolly Cherotich, Kirui's cousin, humorously brought this out and expressed the general sadness of Kirui's cousins over the family's decision not to repatriate his remains.

“At home, we know Joshua as a very silent person. I was surprised to learn that he was quite talkative and made people laugh. I am also shocked that you call him Cheruiyot. At home, we only know him as Joshua. Also, some members of our family had no idea he was running and climbing mountains,” Dolly said.

Dolly also opened up about Kirui’s marital status in a way that exposed the cheeky hints that Kenyan relatives throw at their unmarried loved ones, urging them to get a wife or a husband.

“Joshua was never keen on getting married. We consistently pressed him about getting married due to his age, but he never provided a satisfactory response until March this year, when I revisited the topic during his younger brother David's wedding ceremony. Among his brothers of a considerable age, he was the only one who had not yet tied the knot. When I inquired about the timing of his wedding, he responded - First, I want to climb Everest, then get money, and after that, I will marry." Now, for certain, that day will never come,” Dolly said.

While Dolly sparked laughter with her inability to run long distances despite being a Kalenjin, it was Kirui’s younger brother, David Kimutai Kirui, who really had the meeting in stitches as he paid tribute to his brother.

“I have heard people say that my brother was humorous, yet he was not even the funniest person in our home. You will soon know why,” David said as he started his tribute to the laughter of everyone in the room. He laced his tribute with jokes as he narrated various episodes in Kirui's life.

David hailed his brother’s courage and laced that part of his tribute by comparing him to the biblical Joshua, who also spent time in the mountains.

"He lived up to his name," David said, adding that he was born on January 26, 1984. He then joked that he would be surprised if that day was a Monday, possibly alluding to Kirui's dislike for Monday blues.

“He was the second born in a family of four boys and one girl. Joshua studied at Nandi Primary School, where he was always in the top three of his class. He did his KCPE at the age of 12 and scored 450 out of 700 marks. However, my parents feared he was too small to go to Form One. Fearing bullying, he retook Class Eight and achieved a score of 501 out of 700. He joined Chebisaas High School after that,” David said as he narrated his brother’s educational history.

At Chebisaas, David said that Joshua used to get into a lot of trouble due to his educational performance, prompting their father to visit the school often.

"Whenever I heard our father was heading to Chebisaas, I always knew that Joshua was in trouble due to poor grades." However, he and our father had a love-hate relationship. While at home, our father was quite pleased with him because of all his children, he was the only one not intimidated by hard labor, and he used to dig our shamba all by himself," David said.

Despite his numerous discipline problems in school, Joshua surprised his family by scoring an A on his KCSE, setting a record.

After high school, Joshua proceeded to Maseno to study biomedical science.

“He got first-class honours." With a cheeky smile, David said, "There has never been another in the family since."

Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui's legendary status is very much alive, and his legacy will last forever. May his daring soul rest in peace on the mountain he is now one with.