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President Uhuru Kenyatta led the nation to mourn veteran media practitioner and trainer Joe Kadhi who passed on yesterday.

Although he left the newsroom years back opting to put his focus and energy on training journalists, Kadhi, who was buried yesterday afternoon at Lang’ata Cemetery in Nairobi, remained a popular practitioner within the local and regional media circles.

“Joe Kadhi was a great Kenyan. He was a patriot who worked hard to ensure the public was well informed through objective reporting,” President Kenyatta said in his tribute.

Deputy President William Ruto also praised him for his enthusiasm in bettering local journalism.

 “Joe Kadhi was a truly gifted, dedicated and enthusiastic journalist who leaves behind an extraordinary body of work,” said Ruto.

Media Council of Kenya said Joe was a strong believer in media ethics praising him for his commitment to ensure junior colleagues remained true to their calling. 

“Joe’s strong belief in journalistic ethics became synonymous with his journalism specialty. Despite his age, Joe was vibrant on his Facebook page engaging on journalistic ethics,” MCK said in a statement.

MCK added that his expertise had been tapped when the media regulator was developing its Code of Conduct.

“He was a member of the taskforce that toured the country to collect views on media freedom in Kenya, that led to the establishment of the Media Council of Kenya and the development of the Code of Conduct for the Practice of Journalism in Kenya,” added MCK. Journalists who had benefitted from his pot of knowledge said he contributed greatly to the growth of the industry.

Top mentor

Royal Media Services Editorial Director Linus Kaikai said the media industry had lost a mentor and a legend.“Sad day; veteran journalist Joe Kadhi has passed on. We have lost a mentor, professional guardian, legendary trainer and a pioneer of the golden generation,” said Kaikai.

Kadhi, who was a man of letters, and belonged to a rare breed of professional pace-setters, during his prime time years identified himself with a groovy Afro hairstyle, bow ties and Kaunda suits. Eloquent, sharp-tongued, and strict both in the verbal and printed word, was an unswerving stickler to the rule book.

Born and brought up in the sprawling Majengo slums of Nairobi, Joe rose to become one of Kenya’s most celebrated writers, editors, managers, trainers and opinion shapers with a respected mastery of both English and Swahili languages.

Kadhi ranks among the first crop of eminent post-colonial African scribes to chronicle events of the nascent Kenyan Republic after its independence in 1963, among them Peter Mwaura, George Githi, Hillary Ngweno, George Mbugguss, Joe Hamisi, Boaz Omori, Hafidh Ali and Philip Ochieng.