The engineer who oversaw the construction of the 13-storey Nairobi City Hall Annex in 1980 has died of Covid-19.
Prof Maurice Mang’oli, who breathed his last at the Nairobi Hospital on Tuesday, hailed from Bungoma county. Mang'oli taught at the University of Nairobi for 35 years.
Among other organisations Mang'oli consulted for are the Insurance Regulatory Authority in 2009 and the Kenya Sugar Research Foundation in Kisumu.
He also offered technical engineering valuation for the Kenya Ports Authority for assets in Mombasa, Nairobi ICD, Kisumu ICD, Eldoret ICD, Lamu, Malindi, Mtwapa.
Others listed in his resume include Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, University of Nairobi and Kenya Pipeline Company.
Mang'oli was an alumnus of Friends School Kamusinga and the University of Nairobi where he graduated with a first-class honours degree in Bachelor of Science (Electrical Engineering). He studied under a City Council scholarship.
After his master's programme in the same course sponsored by Unesco in 1979, Mang'oli went to Pennsylvania State University, US, and completed his PhD in 1992.
Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati eulogised Mango'li as "a seasoned teacher, a well-travelled scholar and an expert engineer who has his name and hand-print on several building projects dotting the city".
Wangamati said the county has seen high-profile fatalities from Covid-19, including Senator Moses Wetangula's brother Tony Waswa.
Dr Doreen Adisa Lugaliki, the first doctor to die from Covid-19, also hailed from the county.
"As a county, we have borne the brunt of Covid-19 pandemic that continues to ravage the country. As we mourn our gallant kinsmen being felled by this disease, let us stay alert and adhere to the advice given by our medical experts," he said.
The county chief said Bungoma will only flatten the curve when everyone acknowledges the gravity of the situation Covid-19 has created.
"There has to be a radical shift in how we handle and interact with each other even as we pray for a cure," the governor said.
Wetang'ula eulogised the professor as a distinguished engineer and scholar.
"It's a terrible loss to his family friends and the country. He was resourceful and hardworking. My condolences to his family and the UoN where he taught for many years," he said.
(edited by o. owino)
