‘Heart and soul of everything he did.’ Well-known Lexington man dies in kayak accident
A young Lexington man who was widely known for his positivity, leadership and entrepreneurial spirit is being remembered by many after his death over the weekend in a Cave Run Lake kayaking accident.
Cubaka “Chui” Nehemia Mutayongwa, 22, died Saturday after his kayak flipped, his family said.
Mutayongwa, one of seven brothers, moved to the United States in 2012 after leaving Uganda as a refugee, said Pacific Mutayongwa, his older brother. His family moved to Uganda after leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo, said Karissa Porter, a family friend and former caseworker through the Kentucky Refugee Ministries.
Since arriving in Kentucky, Mutayongwa played soccer at Tates Creek High School, worked toward starting his own Soda Pop Shop in Lexington and did everything he could to help the people in his community, his family and friends said.
Everything Mutayongwa did after high school was focused on lifting the community, Pacific Mutayongwa said.
Mutayongwa was working to help unionize workers for Aramark at the University of Kentucky, Porter said.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you came from, he was just trying to make sure you get what you really deserve, especially people working for low pay jobs,” Pacific Mutayongwa said. “He was working to uplift them and help them get what they deserve if there was discrepancy in their pay.”
Even as a high school student, Mutayongwa was heavily involved. He was a member of The American Legion’s Boys Nation, through which he met President Barack Obama.
“He was one guy who always had a big ambition ... I’m really proud of him, he had really done a lot of the things he said he would do,” Pacific Mutayongwa said.
Soda Pop Shop
Mamadou “Sav” Savané, the owner of Sav’s Restaurant and Gourmet Ice Cream, posted on the business’ Facebook page Sunday that he’d been close friends with Mutayongwa, and was supporting his goals to open his own business.
“When he learned that I had closed SAV’s Grill on S. Limestone, he approached me to ask if he could run SAV’s Chill on S. Limestone and also sell his soda pop there,” Savané said in the post. “He was hoping after my lease ended in October he could lease the space and change the name to his own Soda Pop Shop. I fully supported him in this effort and was pleased to be able to play a role in his entrepreneurship.”
Mutayongwa had big plans for his Soda Pop Shop, Pacific Mutayongwa said.
“He wanted that to be a place where people would come by and just relax and have some ice cream,” he said. “He had so much in mind that he wanted to put into that, he wanted it to be a place that feels like home.”
‘The American Dream’
Mutayongwa never became disillusioned with the “American dream,” even when he learned it was more complicated than he thought it might be for a young refugee, Porter said.
“Cubaka was one of those people that ‘yes’ was coming out of his mouth before he ever heard the question,” Porter said. “He wanted to be there, where he was needed, where change was happening, and where change was happening to make Lexington a better place.”
Mutayongwa was involved in the local chapter of the NAACP. He also worked with AmeriCorps, Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition, and Fresh Stop Market, an organization that brings fresh produce to areas where it may not be readily available, Porter said.
“There was a full belief he had that individuals can make a valuable contribution to their community and make change, and never once did he waiver from that,” Porter said.
It’s unimaginable that Mutayongwa will no longer be at Night Market or in other spaces around Lexington where he’d become a familiar face, Porter said.
Pacific Mutayongwa had been with his brother at the lake right before the accident, he said. He’d gone to get food when someone found him and told him his brother had drowned.
“I was like, ‘what are you talking about, I was just with him,’” Pacific Mutayongwa said. “I went and found his girlfriend had been picked out of the water, and he was gone. A few hours later they discovered his body at the bottom of the lake.”
Mutayongwa had been in the kayak with his girlfriend when wave of water caused the boat to overturn, Pacific Mutayongwa said. The two tried to get back on the boat but couldn’t. Mutayongwa’s girlfriend survived the accident and is still processing what happened, his brother said.
A fierce competitor
The loss of Mutayongwa is being felt in several corners of Lexington, including the worlds of high school and college soccer.
Omar Shalash, who is now head coach for boys soccer at Frederick Douglas High School, coached Mutayongwa at Tates Creek High School.
One season, Mutayongwa injured his knee in the first game. Usually when something like that happens, kids lose motivation, Shalash said. But Mutayongwa still showed up to every game to cheer on his teammates.
“He was always preaching positive vibes,” Shalash said. “He came to every game and cheered like it was the World Cup every time something good happened.”
The concept of leadership was never something Mutayongwa had to be taught, Shalash said. He was always lifting people up in soccer, and in other parts of his life.
Even as a freshman Mutayongwa was “so beyond his years,” Shalash said. The soccer team at Tates Creek High School was very multicultural, and he always wanted to learn more about his teammates and where they were from.
“He was just a very, very affectionate guy and someone that really loved the people that were part of his life,” Shalash said.
In 2016, Mutayongwa played soccer at Transylvania University, where he continued to uplift teammates with his positivity.
“Everyone who ran into him always left with a smile, or was laughing, that’s just the kind of person he was ... it’s been amazing how many people he’s really impacted and touched,” said Matt Vogel, head coach of Transylvania University’s men’s soccer team.
Mutayongwa was a fierce competitor on the team, but “wouldn’t hurt a fly, he’d do anything for anybody,” Vogel said.
After his first season of playing for Transylvania, Mutayongwa approached Vogel and said he’d made the decision to quit soccer so he could fully devote his time to community service, Vogel said.
“He just knew that was his calling in life was helping other people,” Vogel said. “He loved soccer, but the time commitment was going to take away from what he really wanted to do with his life.”
Kentucky for Kentucky released a new “I Am a Kentuckian” shirt to raise funds in Mutayongwa’s memory. Organizers are still working to determine how the funds will be used, but they will go to a cause that Mutayongwa was passionate about, Porter said.
Shalash set up a GoFundMe to help Mutayongwa’s family that had raised $12,432 by as of about 5:45 p.m. Sunday.
This story was originally published July 5, 2020 at 6:27 PM.
