Iconic Mbotela was indeed the voice of Kenya, we revered him

We were the Voice of Kenya (VoK). We ruled the world on air in the 1960s and in the ‘70s. Our wings spread all the way to the 80s, and beyond.  

From Broadcasting House in Nairobi, we were received and respected in East Africa and beyond. We were the national broadcaster. We trained at the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication, the University of Nairobi, the BBC, and at Radio Deutsche Welle.

And some of us also trained on the job, at the VoK. The opportunities were available for all, opened by our broad-minded leaders and managers. From a sweeper, you could rise to an outstanding broadcaster. It all depended on your own visionary focus, and willingness to chase your dream.

When we announced that you were listening to the Voice of Kenya, it was no longer our individual decibels in command. It was Kenya speaking, and the world listening. And for that, we chose very carefully what we said, the music we played, and our overall comportment on air. We walked in the footsteps of pioneering African broadcasters, Dalali Mzee, Maurice Mwendah, Daniel Gatuga, Mwakitawa, Fundi Konde, Aziz Yakub, and the amazing Simeon Ndesanjo.  

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Our own iconic flag bearers were the inimitable Job Isaac Mwamto and, of course, Leonard Mambo Mbotela, who rested last week.

Now a senior population, we gathered at the All Saints Cathedral, on Thursday, at an emotional event. We came to bid farewell to our legendary Leonard Mambo Mbotela, a true icon of our times; a symbol of what we stood for.

Leonard was at once a newscaster, an incomparable sports commentator, a continuity announcer, a live broadcasts reporter, a producer of informative programmes, an administrator, and level headed team leader. 

He entertained, informed and educated, as was the ethos of broadcasting in the day. Easily, the only other radio journalist in those ranks in his time was Job Isaac Mwamto, who passed on in a road accident in 1979.

Together with such other notables as Said Omari Kasongo, Alfred Mike Mureithi, and Joshua Makale, their ability to entertain inspired many a youth to seek a career in broadcasting. Certainly, they were the inspiration behind my taking up a career in broadcasting in the early 1980s. Inspired by their work, I walked out of a Master’s degree programme at the University of Nairobi, to take the microphone at Broadcasting House.

Jee Huu ni Ungwana? 

In the 1970s Mambo worked with Adija Ali to delight listeners with the “Kumi Bora” show that profiled the latest in music production in Eastern Africa. In the newscasting docket, he was in the same elite class with Stephen Kikumu, Paul Kivila, Joseph Kiema, Hassan Mazoa, and Kipyegon Arap Kangogo. Their delivery captured your attention from the start to the end of the bulletin.

Mambo’s Ungwana programme was a household item. As both Mambo and Ungwana eventually retire from the airwaves, they go with a rich repository of memories. Mambo was synonymous with radio broadcasting in Kenya.

His voice was easily the ultimate Voice of Kenya. Hence, when the coup makers of August 1982 wanted authenticity for their wicked message, they sought to legitimise it with Mambo’s trusted voice. They commandeered him from his Nairobi residence in the wee hours and shunted him behind the microphones to gentrify the eerie message. Mambo survived the ordeal, to carry on with an illustrious career that began in 1966.

I was privileged to become a part of the team in Broadcasting House, shortly after the 1982 affair. On my first appointment, I worked under Mambo on the Kiswahili service, and George Francis Ndung’u on the English Service. The two services went respectively under the tags of Idhaa ya Taifa (which was to say the National Service), and the General Service. 

Mambo was an affable and infectiously cheerful team leader. He was a genteel individual, who actuated and epitomised the mannerly habits that he taught about. He lived what he preached. He corrected you in a positive manner. His tone demonstrated respect for you and for the matter at hand. His overall disposition was always easy, yet dignified and dignifying. 

In his free time, Leonard could also belt out Bango music with amazing prowess. Today, we are once again reminded of our mortality.

As this icon now sleeps the sleep of the faithful, we are only left with memories and recordings of his captivating voice. In the dissipated times that we live in, the best tribute we could pay this man is to try to practise the etiquette and common decency that he preached.

Rest in eternal peace, Majee, go well.