Lovingly known as “Fundi Zabu”
9 February 1971 — 11 November 2026 · aged 55
Daraja Mbili welder who forged gates, grills and a family out of scrap iron
Kisii, Kenya Born in Nyamache, Kisii County Resting at Family home, NyamacheIt is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of ZABLON ONGERA NYAKUNDI, jua kali welder of Daraja Mbili, on 11th November 2026 at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital. Husband to Jemimah Kemunto; father to Collins and Brenda; brother to Mercy, Samuel and Lydia; uncle to many. Family and friends meet daily at Daraja Mbili, Kisii, at 5.30 pm. Cortege leaves Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital Mortuary on Wednesday 2nd December at 8.00 am for a funeral service at Nyamache SDA Church, followed by burial at the family home. M-Pesa Paybill 713820, Account ZABU. Rest in peace, Fundi.
Almost every gate in Daraja Mbili has a small star welded into its bottom corner, and anyone who lives there will tell you who put it there. Zablon Ongera Nyakundi, known to all as Fundi Zabu, signed every job with that star, and for thirty years it meant a gate that would never sag, a window grille that would never rust, and a bill that was never inflated.
He was born in Nyamache in 1971, the fifth of eight children of a banana farmer. He left Form Two when the fees ran out and started as an apprentice at a Kisii jua kali shed, sweeping metal shavings for his lunch. By twenty-four he had his own workstation, a second-hand arc welder and a customer list that stretched from Kisii town to Keroka. He trained fourteen apprentices over the years, and nine of them now run their own workshops.
Zablon was a man of few words and many repairs. He mended the church gate for free, rebuilt a neighbour's stove after a fire, and welded a ramp for a boy in a wheelchair at Nyanchwa without charge. He was a keen player of draughts and a loud supporter of Gor Mahia. He carried a small notebook in his shirt pocket and drew sketches in it for gates that he had not yet been asked to build.
He was a deacon at Nyamache SDA Church, where on Sabbath mornings he oversaw the sound system and the offering baskets. After a short illness he died at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital on 11 November 2026, aged fifty-five.
He leaves his wife Jemimah, two children, his siblings, and a town full of gates with a small star in the corner.
“Good iron does not complain, and neither should a good man.”
Wednesday, 2 December 2026 at 07:00 UTC
Add to calendarComing together to honour Zablon and support the family.
Funeral costs, transport to Nyamache and the burial at the family home.
Daily at the family home in Daraja Mbili, Kisii, 5.30 pm
Contact: Collins Nyakundi Ongera
$0 raised of $1,937.98
Fellow artisans pooling funds and donating iron sheets and labour for the burial.
Association shed, Daraja Mbili, evenings 6.00 pm
Contact: Obadiah Nyaundi Mose
$47.50 raised of $1,395.35
Funeral service programme, choir and sound system.
Church, Wednesdays 6.00 pm
Contact: Pastor Nyabuto Ondieki
$33.25 raised of $620.16
Chama members covering the family's immediate expenses.
Chama meeting, first Saturday of every month and extra meetings this month
Contact: Peter Nyaboga Obwocha
$28.50 raised of $930.23
Sign in to start a committee or join one to support the family.
Memorial fund
Help the family cover funeral costs and keep the Daraja Mbili workshop open for his apprentices.
$175.75 raised of $2,800
6%8 recent contributions
Kevin Cheruiyot gave $4.75 · 13h ago
Dr. Brian Simiyu Wafula gave $47.50 · 21h ago
Tom Mukhwana gave $23.75 · 22h ago
“From your old classmates.”
Mark Odongo gave $28.50 · 1d ago
“Pole sana kwa familia.”
Abdulrahman Ahmed Khamis gave $28.50 · 1d ago
Secondary education (Form One and Two)
Nyamache Secondary School1986 – 1987 · Nyamache
Left when school fees ran out and chose to learn a trade instead.
Apprentice welder
Kisii Jua Kali Sheds1988 – 1995 · Kisii
Learned to weld, bend and finish from a master fundi.
Owner, Zabu Welding Works
Daraja Mbili Jua Kali Association1995 – 2026 · Kisii
Made gates, grills, stoves and school furniture for three decades.
Married Jemimah Kemunto
1998 · Nyamache
A marriage of twenty-eight years.
Deacon
Nyamache SDA Church2005 – 2026 · Nyamache
Looked after the church sound system and welded its gate.
Trainer of apprentices
Kisii Jua Kali Youth Programme2003 – 2026 · Kisii
Taught fourteen apprentices, nine of whom now run their own workshops.
Tap an organisation to find others who studied or worked there.
Zablon is survived by
4 people have shared a memory of Zablon.
Knew Zablon? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tributeNeighbour from Nyamache, now in Minnesota
He welded my mother's window grille during a thunderstorm so she could sleep. I was ten. I became a doctor, and I still remember his hands holding the iron steady in the rain.
Wife
He promised to build me a bigger gate when the children finished school. They both did last year. The gate will be finished. I will make sure.
SDA Church leader
Our church gate is Zablon's work and it has never sagged. He never accepted payment for it. He said the gate of the church should be the best-made in the village. Rest in the blessed hope.
Former apprentice, now workshop owner
Fundi Zabu taught me to weld with a broken glove and a patient voice. When I started my own shed he lent me his machine for a year without a shilling. I welded a star in my first gate for him.
