On Tuesday, Nakuru residents and the Muslim community bid farewell to one of its most popular tycoons, Said Abdallah Azubedi.
Though now dead, after a long illness that took his life while at the Aga Khan Hospital where he was receiving treatment on Monday, the famed tycoon will forever be remembered.
So rich was Azubedi that he was rumoured to own half of the Nakuru CBD in plots and a quarter of all the residential houses in Bondeni slums.
He also owns property in Langalanga and Freehold estates.
But many only heard him and never noticed him even if they came across him because of his down to earth lifestyle, including wearing flip-flops, a Kanzu and keeping unkept long hair.
According to his brother Ali Azubedi, the tycoon of Yemeni origin worked his way up after landing in the town aged three.
He then managed to set up a wholesale shop in Bondeni Estate before it was turned into a soda and cigarette distribution warehouse, a venture that apparently made him lots of money.
When the distributorship was snatched away from him in the early 2000s, he moved to Nakuru CBD where he dedicated his time to operating his Tabaruk Hotel next to the Shabab matatu stage.
He turned the former depot to his house where he lived with his family until his death.
"He was the first born in the family. When my parents arrived here he was only three years old. He worked his way up and managed to set up a wholesale business that thrived and expanded into a soft drink and cigarette distribution,” Ali told the Standard.
It's at this time, narrates Ali, that he ventured into real estate business before going ahead to own among others, the Gikomba Shopping Complex in Nakuru CBD.
Ironically, he was never seen out unless when he had to and spend most of his time behind the counter at Tabaruk cafe where he also received rent from his tenants and had no bodyguard.
His car was an old 1971 Peugeot 504. A mark of his wealth was his generous character especially during Muslim functions.
Azubedi died aged 79 and was buried at the Bondeni Muslim Cemetery, only a few metres from his home.