ADVERT 
ADVERTA decade may have passed since Kenya lost two remarkable members of its technology and creative communities, but the memories of Idd Salim and Rajan Solanki remain deeply etched in the hearts of those who knew them.
Their deaths came only days apart in September 2013, yet under profoundly different circumstances. One was a battle against disease; the other was a victim of one of Kenya’s darkest moments of terror.
Idd Salim, one of the founding members of the Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE), died on September 25, 2013, after a battle with tuberculosis. To the technology and coding community, he was remembered as an exceptional talent. To his family and friends, he was much more—a father, mentor, colleague and dependable friend whose influence extended well beyond his professional accomplishments.
His death was a painful loss for Kenya’s emerging technology and digital community. Those who worked alongside him remembered not only his technical ability but also the commitment and passion with which he approached his work. For many, keeping his memory alive became a way of honouring a man who had helped shape a growing generation of Kenyan digital innovators.
Four days earlier, on September 21, Kenya had suffered the devastating Westgate terrorist attack.
ADVERTAmong those killed was Rajan Solanki, the founder of the food blog Pikachakula. Rajan’s passion for food was unmistakable, and his award-winning blog gave him a distinctive voice in Kenya’s growing online community.
But those who knew him personally remembered more than his writing and love of food. They described a warm, generous and exceptionally kind human being whose friendliness left a lasting impression on those around him.
Rajan’s death became part of the painful national memory of Westgate, where innocent lives were cut short in an attack that shocked Kenya and the world.
Idd and Rajan belonged to different worlds and made their contributions in different ways, but their stories shared one important thread: both demonstrated the power of individuals to enrich the communities around them.
In 2014, BAKE brought friends, colleagues, members of Kenya’s technology community and the families of the two men together for a memorial at Nailab. The gathering was intended not simply as a remembrance of death, but as a celebration of two lives, their achievements and the people they touched.
The memorial was a reminder that communities are ultimately built around people—and that the loss of exceptional individuals can leave a void that cannot easily be filled.
For Idd, it was a tribute to a pioneering technologist, father, mentor and founding member who helped lay the foundations of Kenya’s digital community.
For Rajan, it was a tribute to a passionate food blogger whose generosity and humanity resonated with everyone fortunate enough to know him.
Years later, their stories remain relevant. Kenya’s technology, blogging and creative industries have grown dramatically, but the foundations were laid by people such as Idd and Rajan who believed in the possibilities of the digital space long before it became the powerful ecosystem it is today.
Their legacies therefore extend beyond photographs, blog posts and memories. They live on in the people they inspired, the communities they helped build and the digital culture they helped shape.
Idd Salim and Rajan Solanki may have left this world within days of each other, but their contributions ensured that they would not simply be remembered for how they died.
They would be remembered for how they lived.
