Elijah Oladunni Kehinde was a professor of surgery and a consultant urological surgeon at Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan. He was born in Ogbomoso, Nigeria, on 13 November 1953, the son of Solomon Kehinde-Bankole and Deborah Anke Kehinde-Bankole, both devout Baptists, after his mother had suffered stillbirths in all of her earlier pregnancies, then very common in Nigeria. Elijah started his primary education at the Baptist School, Oja Titun, Ogbomoso, but was sent to his uncle at Ilorin to complete his primary education at the First Baptist Primary School, because the Ogbomoso school terminated at the fourth grade. He had his secondary education at the Government Secondary School, Ilorin, where he distinguished himself, graduating with distinction in grade one. He was awarded a government scholarship to the Federal Government College, Sokoto, for his Higher School Certificate, where he also excelled. He was then admitted to Nigeria's premier university, the University of Ibadan, where he graduated from the medical school in 1979. He then proceeded to the compulsory one-year National Youth Service in Afuze, in what was then Bendel State. His professional career started as a house officer at University College Hospital, Ibadan. It was at this time that he developed his interest in urological surgery. After National Service, he was employed as a senior house officer at Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, but because there was no urologist at the hospital, he was allowed to do his clinical training in urology at his *alma mater*, University College Hospital, Ibadan. Elijah showed great determination and dedication, working about two hours’ drive away from home. He later got a scholarship to pursue a diploma in urology at the University of London in 1987, which he completed in the same year. He was a registrar at the Institute of Urology, London from 1987 to 1988. In May 1990, he became a fellow of the Medical College of Surgeons of Nigeria, specialising in urology. Later that year, in October, he became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons. In July 1998, he earned his doctor of medicine degree by thesis from the University of Leicester. Elijah's distinguished medical career took him from Nigeria to the UK, and later to Oman and Kuwait, and then to Kazakhstan. He was appointed as a full professor of surgery at the faculty of medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait, where he was a consultant urological surgeon. He served in this position for eight years, before leaving for Kazakhstan, where he was appointed as a professor of surgery and was asked to pioneer a world class medical school and cancer research centre. As a seasoned researcher, educator, urological surgeon and consultant, Elijah won many academic awards, scholarships and distinctions. In April 2004, he won an award for the best clinical sciences research at the Health Sciences Poster Conference, the first of many awards given to him by Kuwait University. In 2005, he was the recipient of an award for the best basic sciences research at the university and in 2006, he was given a prestigious award as a distinguished researcher. Elijah won dozens of research grants, including a grant (from 1991 to 1993) from the University of Leicester for research into prostate cancer. He also won a grant (from 1993 to 1994) from Bayer UK Limited, also for work on prostate cancer. He had over 85 publications in both local and international academic journals, and wrote chapters in several books. He was an expert reviewer, associate editor and editor of many leading journals in urology and medical sciences. He was a regular attendee and featured speaker at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (and similar conferences in Europe, Asia and Latin America). It was on his way to the American Urological Association conference in June 2015 that he revealed that the lymphocytic leukaemia, which had afflicted him for several years, was finally in remission as a result of the intensive chemotherapy he received in Kuwait. While excelling in teaching, research and in clinical skills, Elijah was said to thoroughly enjoy learning the language of his host country Kazakhstan. He practiced the Kazakh language with his students before every class. He could laugh at his own attempts to pronounce words correctly, and he learned from everyone he met. Elijah was also an active contributor to his church fellowship study groups, where he was well known for his courtesy to everyone. Elijah died in a mysterious fire in his flat in a high rise building in Astana on 14 July 2017, thought to originate from faulty electrical wiring. Dying in the same fire were his gynaecologist wife Olufunmilola, a medical student daughter, Mojoyinoluwa, and another daughter, Omolayo. He was 63. He was survived by two daughters, Oluwayemisi and Olaoluwakitan, from his first marriage. His funeral took place at Ori-Oke Baptist Church in Ogbomoso on 20 October 2017, the same church he had attended as a child and where he had been married. In the eulogy, the president of Nazarbayev University, Shigeo Katsu expressed how the university grieved the ‘…loss of this wonderful man, who was an international scholar, an inspiring teacher, a highly regarded researcher, a skilled surgeon, a generous mentor, a deeply spiritual man and a loyal friend.’ Elijah was described as a caring, honest and sympathetic man, whose sharp intelligence inspired the students and faculty. In spite of his extraordinary academic accomplishments, he was described as a modest man, who preferred to acknowledge the successes of his colleagues, students, collaborators and friends. The president said that although Elijah was at Nazarbayev University for only one year, he had a strong and unique impact on the university. Elijah shared the university’s dream of creating a world class medical research university in Astana. The Nazarbayev University community will remember him through the newly-established Nazarbayev University Award for Academic Integrity, which will be named in his honour. Elijah’s unique blend of intellectual brilliance, modesty and humour will also live on in his colleagues, students, collaborators and many friends all over the world.