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S. OchiengAyimba fundraiser to take place today
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Reading Time: 2min | Sat. 29.05.21. | 12:11
The 44-year-old succumbed to cerebral malaria last week while receiving treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital.
Following the passing on of former Shujaa head coach Benjamin Ayimba last Friday, 21 May, the rugby world has scheduled a fundraiser to help the family of the departed coach offset pending hospital and burial expenses totaling Ksh. 2.7 million.
The fundraiser dubbed ‘#ForBenjaInaweza’ takes place at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi today and will see Kenyans come together to pay tribute to the only coach who has ever led Kenya to a historic World Rugby 7s series title when Shujaa beat Fiji in the final of the 2016 Singapore tournament.
“As we come to terms with the death of Benja, we still call upon you to aid in offsetting the pending hospital and burial expenses totalling Ksh 2.7 million,” Kenya Rugby Union posted on its social media portals.
#ForBenjaInaweza ???????? pic.twitter.com/8qi7PGGxZs
— Collins Injera, OGW (@cinjera) May 29, 2021
The 44-year-old succumbed to cerebral malaria last week while receiving treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital after battling with the illness for some time.
Ayimba’s rugby passion was developed in Maseno School where upon completion in 1994 he joined Impala RFC and skippered the side to two Kenya Cups and Enterprise Cup doubles in 2000 and 2001.
He was also instrumental for the Impala RFC 7s as he led them to three National Sevens Circuit titles in 1999, 2000 and 2001. He eventually switched to Nondescripts in 2002 and also had a stint with English side Cornish Pirates between 2003 and 2005.
Ayimba turned out for Kenya Sevens at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games as well as the 2001 and 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments in Argentina and Hong Kong respectively.
"This is why we just love Sevens!"
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) May 23, 2021
The day that Benjamin Ayimba led @KenyaSevens to their first ever Cup win pic.twitter.com/x8mwAQ3jSR
He would later transition into coaching as he took up the Kenya Sevens head coach role between 2006 and 2011 and guided them to the first-ever World Series final in 2009 in Adelaide and made history by steering Shujaa to the Dubai 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens semifinals.
Ayimba had a second stint at the helm of Shujaa in 2016 and made history by qualifying for the first-ever Olympics in 2016 to include rugby sevens and also whitewashed sevens heavyweights Fiji 30-7 in the 2016 Singapore Sevens final to lift Shujaa's maiden series title.
The gaffer also had stints at Homeboyz, Mean Machine and Kenya Harlequin where he served as Assistant Coach until his death.
Paybill: 8021673
Account Name: Benjamin Otieno Ayimba Medical
