Prof. Lukoye Atwoli, the firstborn son of Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli, is mourning the death of his wife, Maureen Nyadida-Lukoye, following her battle with cancer.
Lukoye confirmed his wife’s death on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, in a brief but emotional message shared on social media.
“I will struggle to deal with this. So long, my dear. So long,” he wrote.
Lukoye, a prominent psychiatrist and academic, had previously shared aspects of his family life publicly, including celebrations with Maureen.
In April 2022, the couple marked their 17th wedding anniversary with their children and family members. Lukoye shared photographs from the celebration, describing the milestone as “17 done and dusted.”
Their relationship also featured in a Parents Magazine profile in which the couple discussed their marriage, family life and the difficult experience of dealing with Maureen’s cancer diagnosis.
Following Maureen’s death, friends and colleagues have rallied around Lukoye and his family. On Tuesday, close friend Simon Kigondu visited Lukoye at Lee Funeral Home to offer his condolences as the family began mourning.
Maureen was more than the wife of a prominent psychiatrist and daughter-in-law of a senior Kenyan labour leader. She built a career in Kenya’s public sector, spending more than a decade at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
Maureen joined NSSF as a Compliance Officer in 2007, where she worked on statutory contribution compliance and engagement with employers. She later moved into strategy and organisational change.
Her professional background also included studies in biological sciences and counselling psychology, reflecting interests that extended beyond her corporate career.
Maureen was also listed as a member of the Lukoye Atwoli Foundation, an organisation established in 2022 to support education and mental-health initiatives.
Maureen’s battle with cancer was something she and Lukoye had previously discussed publicly. The couple opened up about their experience during a Parents Magazine interview, sharing their journey through her illness and the impact it had on their family.
The experience became part of their public story of resilience, with Lukoye continuing to celebrate his wife and their family despite the challenges presented by her illness.
Lukoye is a respected Kenyan psychiatrist, researcher and medical academic whose career extends well beyond his family connection to Francis Atwoli.
He is the Dean of the Medical College, East Africa, at Aga Khan University and a professor of psychiatry. He also serves as Deputy Director of the university’s Brain and Mind Institute.
Before joining Aga Khan University, Lukoye served as Dean of the Moi University School of Medicine and held several academic and clinical positions at Moi University and Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital.
His research and professional interests include mental health, trauma and psychiatric disorders.
His career has also taken him into international mental-health and health-policy spaces.
