Hotel cleaner who started Goodrich Schools dies at 51

Next time you hear someone talking about rising from grass to grace, think about Gideon Kyalo Kimulu.

He did not qualify for university admission after sitting his KCSE exam in 1992. Kimulu studied at a polytechnic in Nairobi.

He worked as a cleaner at a city hotel.

Hardworking and ambitious, he rose to become a sales representative of the hotel after two years. This was the start of his rise and he never looked back.

The first-born of six later worked for another hotel chain as a sales representative in Tanzania. Then he started his own enterprise.

First, he opened food kibanda in Nairobi around Railways police station and business picked up. He opened other food kiosks in the area to serve as many people as possible.

Later, he ventured  into the education sector. He started the Goodrich Kindergarten in Kileleshwa and Goodrich School in Embakasi.

A risk taker, he didn't give up in the face of failure.

His Goodrich Group of Schools became a brand. He also invested in real estate and other business.

His rise was not free of controversy. In the middle of this year, Kimulu was accused of grabbing public land in Imara Daima to build a school.

The four acres were said to belong to the Mukuru Community Centre. Kimulu was alleged to have grabbed it and masterminded demolition of Anointed Academy, a nearby private school as he developed Goodrich School.

Kimulu was born in 1969 in Mwala, Machakos county. He died on November 1, aged 51. He was buried on Wednesday.

He is survived by his widow Karen Gatabi Kyalo and three children, Geoffrey, Maxwell and Daniel.

(Edited by V. Graham)