Mambo Mbotela: Mentor, dedicated professional
By Editorial, February 10, 2025Veteran broadcaster Leonard Mambo Mbotela was radio itself.
Mbotela, a legendary figure in the media industry, died on Friday while receiving treatment in Nairobi. He was 85. The icon inspired generations of journalists to join the profession and mentored them around the trade. Journalism demands a rare tenacity, discipline and commitment to truth, fact and professionalism. A man of great candour, Mbotela had all these traits.
The role of the media largely remains information, education and entertainment. There is also the agitation element in which journalism drives critical conversations around constitutionalism, human rights and the rule of law. Mbotela was a larger-than-life crusader of the tenets of good governance and social hygiene.
His legendary ‘Je, Huu Ni Ungwana’ radio programme earned him stripes as a consummate social critic who helped improve governance and the attitudes of Kenyan audiences, to whom he was dedicated. The programme centred on respect and calling out indecent behaviour with humour, shaping values and offering lessons in morality.
He gained fame during the 1982 coup against the Moi government, with a faction of the Kenyan air force picking him up from his home in Ngara, Nairobi, and ordering him into the Broadcasting House studio to announce that President Daniel Arap Moi had been overthrown.
Having practised journalism during a repressive period, it is not surprising that he irked many in power through his social and political commentaries over the decades.
He was a master storyteller and mentor, with a booming voice and an infectious laughter that were loved by many. A gentleman par excellence, he came from a humble background and his success in journalism was the envy of many.
Family and colleagues have mourned him as a dedicated professional, a warm-hearted disciplinarian, and a man whose laughter and wisdom left a lasting impact on those who knew him.
He was more than a broadcaster whose voice left many family rooms with joy.
The Kenya Editors Guild said Mbotela was a dedicated professional. “As Kenya Editors’ Guild, we celebrate Mbotela for his dedication and contribution towards excellence in journalism, specifically in broadcasting and continuity,” said KEG in a statement. “We also celebrate him for dedicating his time to [mentor] the next generation of journalists.”
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