Discussing life, love and sharing jokes: this is how Kenyan television presenter and producer Tim Njiru remembers what would be One Africa Media co-founder, Carey Eaton’s, last interview.

Three weeks later Eaton was shot dead in an armed robbery at a friend’s house: a tragedy that has since sent reverberations throughout Africa’s technology scene.

An outpouring of tributes have hailed Eaton as a pioneer on the continent’s bourgeoning technology space.

Eaton’s story, in many ways, symbolises the ‘Africa rising’ narrative. A Kenyan native, Carey left his high-flying chief information officer job at Australian internet company SEEK to return to Africa to build car classifieds website Cheki.

The website took off, spreading its reach from Kenya to other African nations. And Eaton would come to be part of a bigger company, Africa One Media, which would bring more internet companies such as Private Property into the mix and employ over 150 people.

And Tim Njiru’s final interview with Carey, which aired on KTN show ‘The Ideal Space’ over the weekend, portrays One Africa Media’s co-founder as a man who didn’t believe in imposing hierarchies, but rather empowering people who worked for him.

“Carey was a free spirit who epitomised what it means to be free,” Njiru told ITWeb Africa.

“Very humble man who never had any red tape or procedures on how to approach things. This was a very fun interview I had with him. Carey inspired me to start small as a business,” Njiru added.

The television interview (displayed in the links below courtesy of Njiru) looks at the innovative architecture and design layout of One Africa Media’s office.

Throughout the show, a relaxed, friendly and articulate Carey guides Njiru around One Africa Media’s office, showing off designs that symbolise a “re-imagined” office space.

Old car seats turned into high-end boardroom chairs, an aeroplane wing transformed into a piece of furniture, and art displays of previous Kenyan newspaper headlines dot the open-plan office space at One Africa Media.

In between these chats, Njiru says he connected with Carey on a more empathetic level.

“We occasionally had off-the-cuff chats from the interview, and I learnt how loving a husband he was to his wife and a father to his kids as he occasionally spoke about them,” Njiru told ITWeb Africa.

“We spoke about long distance marriage: something that we shared through experience as my wife lives in Dubai.

“After the interview I travelled to see my wife and was excited to share this great contact I had networked with. Family values is what Carey lived for and it was quite evident,” Njiru said.

Carey’s death has sparked outpourings of memories of the man.

People who knew Carey from university and even school have taken to ITWeb Africa’s website and social media channels to express their condolences.

Top business leaders in Africa’s tech space, such as founder of South African e-commerce website BidorBuy.co.za and managing director of uAfrica.com Andy Higgins, have also paid their tributes.

The death of Carey; however, has further shifted the focus onto Kenya’s state of security.

Terror attacks from Somali militant group al Shabaab have knocked the country’s tourism industry over the last year, as nations such as the UK have issued warnings about travelling to the East African country.

Carey; though, has seemingly been a victim of crime: posing further questions about safety in the country as technology entrepreneurs from across the globe settle in Kenya to take advantage of East Africa’s booming tech scene.

“The demise of Carey has been a big blow to the tech industry in East Africa,” Njiru told ITWeb Africa.

“It was very unfortunate that it happened in that manner. Kenya as a destination has its issues just like any other country. Security is one of them and it can only be resolved if we all looked at it from macro perspective,” Njiru said.

The life of Carey has nevertheless left an imprint on Njiru, and provided lessons for Kenya and its economy.

“Carey put his life out there,” Njiru said.

“He employed more than 150 people, most of them from underprivileged communities or societies. He had seen the need and identified a problem and gave a solution.

“He was a visionary man who made many people realise that life is not just walking through doing what human beings are known for. Carey pushed boundaries and challenged the status quo. He turned talent into performance,” Njiru added.