Global tech community mourns death of Fahim Saleh – gruesomely murdered at 33
The co-founder and CEO of bike-hailing company, Gokada, Fahim Saleh, whose dismembered body was found in his apartment in Manhattan, New York in the United States, is being remembered and mourned across the world as a skilled entrepreneur and investor.
New York Police said they found Saleh’s limbless and headless body on Tuesday afternoon with an electric saw seen lying next to the remains.
“On Tuesday July 14, 2020, at approximately 1535 hours, police responded to a 911 call of a past assault inside 265 East Houston Street, in the confines of the 7th Precinct,” the New York Police Department (NYPD) said in an email sent to Neusroom on Wednesday morning.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered an unconscious and unresponsive male inside of an apartment. EMS also responded to the scene and pronounced him deceased. The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing.”
NYPD, however, told Neusroom that it is withholding the name of the deceased “pending proper family notification.”
According to New York Daily, Saleh’s sister called the police because she hadn’t seen her brother in a day, she then discovered his mutilated corpse in the apartment he moved into in December 2019.
An elevator surveillance camera which is believed to have caught Saleh’s last moments shows him getting into the elevator on Monday. He was followed quickly by a second man, dressed in a suit, wearing gloves, a hat and a mask over his face.
After the victim walked out onto his floor, he fell immediately after he was possibly shot.
“The perp had a suitcase. He was very professional,” one police source told NY Daily.
Saleh, 33, and Ayodeji Adewunmi pioneered bike hailing service in Nigeria with Gokada in 2018. The company reportedly laid off about 70 per cent of its staff and pivoted into delivery service in February 2020 after the Lagos state government banned the operations of commercial motorcycles from major highways in the state from February 1, 2020.
Before coming to Nigeria, he had co-founded a motorcycle taxi company in Bangladesh, his parents’ country and other companies.
Gokada in a Twitter statement announcing his death said the company is deeply saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of Saleh, who it described as a great leader, inspiration and positive light for all.
“Fahim’s vision and belief in us will be with us forever, and we will miss him dearly. Thank you for understanding as we get through this,” Gokada wrote.
Abraham Ojes, the co-founder of Zend Mobility (a delivery service company in Lagos) recounted his last moments with Saleh and how he was close to signing a deal with the late tech entrepreneur.
He wrote: “I’m writing this from a place of pain and loss. You were such an inspiration to me and my team. Just last week Uzo and I were on a call with Fahim listening to an offer to absorb us into Gokada and a possible buyout.
“Well I guess that’s not going to be happening again. My condolences are with the Gokada team and riders who are going through a lot right now affected by state policies and a global pandemic. Fahim was such a brilliant person. Last month, he said Gokada completed 30k deliveries.
Abraham who described his death as a waste added “He was trying to expand his product team at Gokada and needed experienced hands in mobility and logistics which was why he was reaching out to us. His final offer never came but I took a lot from that meeting. He even shared recent projects he was working on. What a waste!”
Victor Asemota tweeted: “I am wondering if this is a New York problem, Nigeria problem, or China problem. It definitely was a money problem. This is sad and very scary.
“I saw Gokada trending and I thought it was for a good reason. It was for the worst possible reason, the murder of a founder. Masks are really allowing assassins get very close and also get away without risk of discovery. This was a very gruesome assassination to send a message.”
Tootle, a ride-sharing app in Nepal also mourned Saleh’s death.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn about the death of Fahim Saleh, founding member of Pathao. In this moment of grief we offer our condolences to the bereaved family and friends at Pathao. We pray that the departed soul rests in peace,” Tootle wrote in a Twitter tribute.
Ayo Bankole shared a video where Saleh was addressing the ban on motorcycle and wrote: “This last video from Fahim Saleh, CEO of Gokada – Passionate entrepreneur. A young man living the life & full of promise. Who could he have engaged that is so evil to cut him to pieces? ‘We have a torso, a head that’s been removed, arms and legs’. Tragic.”
Sujeev Shakya, CEO of Beed, an international management consulting firm, described Saleh’s death as horrifying.
The Director of the Public Policy Initiative of Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Foundation, Amara Nwankpa who is still finding it hard to understand why Saleh was murdered tweeted: “I still can wrap my head around this Fahim Saleh murder. Too sad. Too gruesome. And too many questions.”
A tech journalist Henry Nzekwe recounted his encounter with Saleh “I spoke with Fahim Saleh on three different occasions. He came across as an easy-going and happy person. It’s so unfortunate and sad that he was murdered in such a gruesome manner. It’s horrible.
The NYPD said the incident remains under investigation and no arrests has been made as at the time it sent an email to Neusroom on Wednesday morning.
