Media personality Ciru Muriuki announced her engagement the late actor Charles Ouda in 202.
Tragically, Ouda passed away in February 2024, and a night vigil was held on 14th February to commemorate his life.
During her tribute, Ciru lightheartedly mentioned that Charli would have had enough time to memorize the tribute she had written in ten minutes.
She started off by saying;
“This isn’t how I envisioned Valentine’s day. We definitely weren’t going to go all that grand, we weren’t that couple, we probably be home either his how or mine, he’d make one of the elite sandwiches. ”
She asked if anyone had tasted his sandwiches “I think he put crack in those things,” she joked
Adding: “Then he’d make me a strong cocktail to marinate me. I’d probably force him to watch the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which he grumbles about but becomes weirdly invested in it by the end.”
She continued;
“I’m standing up here honoring this man and still doesn’t feel real. Charli was a true artiste, he appreciated every form of art.”
“He was not a snob. He looked at art with a sort of child-like wonder, an opportunity to learn. Thanks to him, I gained a deeper appreciation of creative arts. Watching every film became an education for me. He was a visionary, the way he saw the world was just beautiful to witness and he never wanted to gatekeep his knowledge. ”
SEE: How well do you know the late actor Charles Ouda?
She said that he was a vessel that constantly poured into others.
“The first time I ever saw Charli on stage was several years ago while he was still at St Marys. I had just finished high school and my goodness I thought he was so fine, Waah, with that smile that lit up the stage.”
“If anyone told me that 20-plus years later this luminous, effervescent man would ask me to marry him, I’d have laughed you out of the room.”
“This love story of ours took me by surprise. When Charli and I reconnected after I came back from New York, I wasn’t really looking, I had just lost my dad the year before and I was still trying to navigate the enormity of that loss.”
She said that they began a friendship that later had some benefits.
“After a while, it was clear that there was something between us that was completely undeniable so I fought it and when I accepted it, he started fighting it.”
An emotional Ciru added;
“Let me tell you guys I’m almost 42 years old and I have never been loved like that. It wasn’t about the grand gestures. It was about the comfort. The easy intimacy, that wonderfully silly friendship between us.”
She shared a light about gossiping people in the room.
“It was such a big beautiful love. The night he asked me to marry him, we were on his couch and I was wearing torn leggings and one of his t-shirts and he got down on one knee and I cried, and to date that is one of the most beautiful nights of my life.”
She went on to speak to Charli.
“Thank you for showing me what true love really means. Thank you for being the perfect example of a gentleman and a real man. Thank you for being the kindest man I have ever known. Thank you for taking care of me. It is a privilege to have loved and been loved by you. I will miss you until I join you, thank you.”