The news of the demise of Mathew Nyamlori on Monday, January 20, has left many Kenyans broken, after a courageous battle with Stage 3 gastric cancer.

The 40-year-old had been battling gastric cancer since 2022 and died while undergoing treatment at a Nairobi hospital.

Nyamlori captured national attention for sitting the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) nine times despite growing up in abject poverty which challenged his academic journey.

His first attempt was in 1998 when he scored 478 marks out of a possible 700 and was admitted to Kabianga High School. However, his parents could not afford the school fees, and he had no hope of joining high school.

Full of hope to pursue education, Nyamlori returned to class eight at Rongo Primary School in 1999, scoring 559 marks and securing an admission letter to Kanga High School.

His stay at the institution was, however, short-lived due to financial difficulties which forced him to drop out and start doing menial jobs to earn an income.

Perminus Wainaina: It took my business 3 years to make decent income

He later enrolled at Kitere Primary School for another attempt at education, scoring 387 marks, and received an admission letter to Rapogi High School but again could not secure funding for his studies, prompting him to return to class eight.

In 2003, he scored 399 marks at Sony Sugar Primary and was called to Rapogi High before making another impressive score of 434 marks at Rangwe Junior Academy which earned him admission at Maseno High School.

In 2008, as a candidate at Agoro Primary School, Nyamlori scored 397 marks and earned a place at Maranda High School. The following year, he scored 401 marks at Aldo Rebby Academy and was admitted to Kapsabet High.

In 2010 he took the national papers again at Agape Academy, scoring 401 marks and rejoining Maranda High before joining Oriri Primary the following year, where he scored 403 marks and received an admission letter to Nairobi School.

His ninth attempt at the age of 29, Nyamlori joined Nairobi School and completed his four-year studies, earning a B+ with 71 points, thanks to the Equity Bank’s Wings to Fly program.

His excellent performance earned him admission to Kenyatta University, where he pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration.

His life took a tragic turn in 2022, when he was diagnosed with gastric cancer which took his life three years later.

“I started having difficulty swallowing food. The doctors initially said it was H. pylori. However, it progressed, and I decided to undergo an endoscopy. I was subjected to numerous tests, and it was then that I was diagnosed with cancer,” Nyamlori shared in a past interview.

His treatment journey involved multiple surgeries and an extended stay in the Intensive Care Unit which piled medical bill to over Ksh1.2 million.