The late veteran journalist Leonard Mambo Mbotela. One can go on and on without an end. Our friendship would continue thereafter after leaving the national broadcaster, each one of us pursuing different goals. Keep Reading Ndonye: I was a child who washed her hands and dined with the king Mambo Mbotela: Iconic voice that shaped a nation softly falls silent Farouk Kibet: The power behind William Ruto's presidency This man Mbotela: Stared at the barrel of a gun but lived to see five presidents take office Once in a while, apart from picking him up at his home for an outing, our communication via mobile telephony would be intermittent.
Out of spontaneity, and during a visit to another broadcasting legend, Kibyego Arap Kangogo, sometime after the Covid pandemic, I was accompanied by renowned sound engineer Benjamin Kiplangat, who had brought along a video camera. Together, we quickly put a production and christened it Gumzo Mtaani. It was on this premise that I had the privilege of hosting Mbotela, the legendary broadcaster, towards the end of last year. Even though audiences had been familiar with him through their radios for over 50 years, I wanted them to see another side of him, to truly get to know the man behind the voice.
The legendary broadcaster has been calling, eager to know when he will preview the production. In short, he has been anxiously awaiting it. Now, sadly, he will never see the final product. It was during his appearance on the Gumzo Mtaani production that Mbotela narrated his roots and origin, which, as it turns out, are not Kenyan. They settled in Freetown, Mombasa, where Mbotela Senior worked as a porter and gun carrier for missionaries travelling to Uganda. Tragically, during his second mission to Uganda, Mbotela Senior died at the Kedong Valley after an encounter with Maasai morans on their return journey to Mombasa.
Stay informed. Subscribe to our newsletter. Mbotela Senior, who passed away under 30, left behind his wife Halima from Zanzibar and their young son, Juma Mbotela. Halima would later become a great-grandmother to Leonard Mambo. Karuri had collaborated with the British, allowing the Uganda Railway to pass through Kikuyu land.
During our candid interview, I asked Mbotela if his grandfather Juma had married. Juma, along with his wife Grace, had a large family, blessed with eight sons and two daughters. I was to learn through our Gumzo interview that Mbotela was a man whose roots were nestled in a legendary family.
