Friends, family celebrate life of homicide victim and scholarship in his name

Close friends and relatives of a Toronto man fatally shot earlier this year gathered at a restaurant on Tuesday to celebrate his life and a scholarship in his name.

Ikechidiadi (Ike) Kaja, 49, a father and a financial analyst, was shot outside his home in Forest Hill in the area of Avenue Road and Eglinton Avenue West in the evening of Jan. 23, 2022. He died three days later in hospital. He was the city's 10th homicide victim of the year.

Kaja would have turned 50 on Oct. 14. He was the oldest brother of four sisters and left behind a five-year-old son, Lex. His friends and family members celebrated what would have been his 50th birthday at his favourite restaurant near Casa Loma.

Vanessa Kaja-Nwakoby, one of his sisters, said it's difficult to celebrate his birthday without him. She said his 50th birthday was going to be a big deal and his sisters were planning for it this time last year with "great anticipation." She said he was the first of five children, the only boy. 

She said she would like people to know that "this was a real human being here" and he is still loved.

"He was always gracious, always kind, always wonderful. He's the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his own back. He was the kind of guy that was there for all his friends. He was always present," she said.

Kaja-Nwakoby said police have told the family that they have leads but are still investigating.

"It's frustrating sometimes because clearly whoever did this is somewhere out there still. But we're hopeful that they'll be able to get the people."

Katia Millar, a friend, said a group of people who call themselves "Friends of Ike" don't want him to be forgotten and they want justice for him. 

"Instead of having a party with balloons and cake with him, he's in a grave," she said.

"We want to honour his life and celebrate his legacy. He did not deserve to be shot, his life taken away from his loved ones, his friends, his son. It's a very tragic story and we are all still heartbroken, really."

Millar described Kaja as a "bright light" who was smart, well-travelled, curious, worldly, well-spoken and not a risk-taker.

"Just an awesome guy," she said. "He loved life. He loved dancing. He loved music. He loved getting out."

The University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management is administering the Ike Justin Kaja Memorial Scholarship. Kaja graduated from the school in 2008 with a masters of business administration. More than $50,000 has been raised for the scholarship.