Sombre mood as colleagues pay last respects to great journalist

The Kenya National Theatre was on Tuesday enveloped in a hushed reverence during the memorial of the great journalist who had a ferocious love for the arts.

Attendees, all clad in black and a touch of purple, exhibited a collective sense of respect and admiration for the journalist whose life and work had profoundly shaped the art world.

The speeches delivered by close colleagues, admirers and the greats in both art and film were filled with heartfelt tributes, recounting Margaretta’s tireless dedication and profound influence.

Journalist and director Kymsnet Media Network, Msanii Kimani Wanjiru had worked with the late Margaretta for many years writing on arts. She describes the late as one of the kindest and dedicated human beings that he has ever met.

“Through her work, I learnt important lessons in remaining true and passionately loving one’s chosen field of work,” he recalls.

“The arts are not looked at favourably in the media and they are often the pages that are reduced when the papers/magazines have to reduce their pagination. But Margaretta always tried to find new spaces for reporting the arts and that is why she even had the arts being well covered in a business newspaper. Her passion was in theatre and visual arts and was always looking for new frontiers where Kenya art stories could/should be told. It was part of the reason that I chose to focus on cartoons, comics and graphic novels in Africa,” he continues.

Chairman of the Entertainment & Arts Journalists’ Association of Kenya, Boniface Mwalili recounts the dedication that the late Margaretta had to the association and journalism.

“Margaretta never failed to show up for our activities when invited. Even at her most fragile moments, she was the first to arrive. I learnt about maintaining professionalism amidst resilience from her in those moments and as a senior practitioner in our field, her loss will be greatly felt,” he recalls.

As a journalist, Boniface describes her as a consummate journalist who documented the most unique arts stories with exceptional attention to detail and tremendous depth.

“In doing so, she built the careers of many artists and enlightened her audiences about their crafts. In my view, her greatest legacy is in the peers she nurtured through her own work as well as involvement in various sectoral initiatives. As the surviving members of t e arts fraternity in Kenya, we must carry on her work with the diligence and standards of merit that she set,” he says.

Explorations as a creative

For actor, director, script writer, Martin Kigondu, Margaretta was the scribe who wrote on his journey for years as an actor, director, producer and writer.

“She not only watched my work, she saw me. She validated my choices on cerebral and unique pieces and was always there to remind me I was on to something even when few seemed to understand the vision. She affirmed and encouraged my hunches, curiosities; explorations as a creative,” he recalls.

Kigondu believes that Margaretta was more than a library in the arts sector.

“She was an ambassador, a taste master, a talent spotter, a cheerleader and a mother all in one. Documentation was her chosen duty but she came with so much more. The bar of quality has definitely been consistently raised under her eye, encouragement and works. May she be remembered for her diligence, honesty and consistency, a prime example of leading with love and kindness.”

“Margaretta handled everyone on a personal level, such a big heart for a petite woman. There was always room for one more in that heart of her,” reminiscences Wakio Mzenge, Founder BTM Story Tellers/Voice Over stage and Screen Actor and Theater director.

“In 2021, wrote about my performance in Breathe 3 by back to basics. She described my scene with Nick Ndeda as the most surreal episode in the story which she had already described as a painfully disturbing show in the title of her article,” she adds.

Wakio remembers the validation she felt the night when Margaretta called her to congratulate her on the job well done.

“That night, I was validated, serenaded and motivated to keep investing in my craft. She said, “we are ready for a one woman show from you; When I hung up, I stood still for a while letting it all sink in. I couldn’t believe that she had taken time to call me and tell me those encouraging words.”

From then on, a friendship ensued.