Eaton, aged 41 and married with four children, was a founder of One Africa Media, the continent’s largest online classifieds group which owned sites such as Cheki.co.ke, Brightermonday.co.ke, BuyRentKenya.com, and was a former CIO of Seek, the Australian job search site.
Hundreds of colleagues and well-wishers joined family members for an emotional funeral in Nairobi’s main Baptist church, with tributes paid to an “African tech genius” eager to develop talent and jobs in Africa.
A commentary in the Financial Times said Eaton had urged people “not to judge Africa by its sometimes lurid headlines.”
“That he should have become one of those headlines is a truly terrible irony,” the FT said.
Eaton was shot dead by armed robbers while dining with friends at their home in a Nairobi suburb. Police are still investigating the murder.
His death follows the killing in similar circumstances last November of Australian advertising executive Patrick Richer, who worked for Tbwa Flame Tree Advertising, and comes amid worsening violent crime in the city — which has long had the unfortunate moniker “Nairobbery”.
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