The entire Kibera is in mourning after the sudden untimely death of one of the most prolific peacekeepers in the country, Solo 7.
Solo 7 passed on a few days ago and since then social media has been flooding with condolences and praises for him calling him one of the peacekeepers that saved Kibera from the brink of destruction in the wake of the general election in 2007-2008.
Solo 7 is also popularly known by his statement, “Peace Wanted Alive” that resonated with most Kiberians.
Solo 7 was a rather unique human being, he wanted no attention, no fame, no intension of receiving any awards because all he ever wanted was peace and peace in Kenya he championed until his last day on earth.
There will most certainly never be any person who was as important as Solo 7 in Kibera, he became synonymous with peace throughout Kibera and there’s arguably no one person from Kibera who doesn’t know Solo 7 and what he stood for.
Solo 7 real name Solomon Muyundo who was also a grassroots artist was, is and will forever be respected as one of the key people who played a major role in bringing peace back in Kibera, especially during the 2008 post-election violence.
Heard of Solo 7 and thought he was a very rich and powerful man until I later saw that he is just a simple and humble man.
He wanted peace not fame, his message was not lame excuse for fame. He achieved peace which he never received any reward for. He never bothered to ask, never bothered to be remembered.
He knew human beings so well, they will remember you, not when you are alive but when you are dead they will praise you not when you are breathing but they will on your last breathe.
He never bothered, he was only relieved his message well received. Peace was the only thing that could give him rest and now he rests, rests in what he wanted most. Rests in what he achieved, rests in peace but rests forever never to be seen. Goodbye legend”
About Solo 7
During the 2008 post-election violence he started to paint murals delivering messages of peace in public spaces.
Solomon estimates that he’s painted his street art in more than 4000 locations around Kibera on bridges, fences, buildings.
He chooses to go by the moniker “Solo 7” because the number 7 is a very special one for him: he was born in 1977 on July 7 and he is the 7th sibling in his family. Both his names have 7 letters each.
Our condolences goes out to the friends and family of Solo 7 and most importantly to the people of Kibera who have lost such an icon that are usually hard to come by.
