By Emmanuel Onyango
Tributes are being paid to veteran Kenyan broadcaster Leonard Mambo Mbotela, who died on Friday at the age of 85.
Mbotela was a radio and television presenter for the state broadcaster, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), who ruled the airwaves for more than three decades in the 60s through to the 90s.
President William Ruto mourned Mbotela as "a gifted and powerful broadcaster" whose "voice dominated our airwaves".
"Mbotela will fondly be remembered for the integral role he played on our radio stations. Our thoughts are with the family, their loved ones and the media fraternity at this difficult time," the president said in a post on X platform.
Coup attempt
Mbotela is nationally remembered as the unmistakable voice that announced a coup attempt in August 1982 after Kenya air force soldiers' bid to overthrow the government of then President Daniel arap Moi.
He wrote in his autobiography how the soldiers picked him at dawn from his house in Nairobi and drove him to the state broadcaster to read out a written statement that declared "Moi was no longer president".
The coup was quickly put out by pro-government forces although hundreds of people were killed in the fighting in Nairobi.
Mbotela was then ordered to retract his earlier announcement on the national radio, and to declare that Moi was still the president of Kenya and the coup had been quashed, he said in his memoir.
Popular radio programme
His claim to fame was his long running radio programme called 'Je, huu ni ungwana?' that called out indecent behaviours.
Mbotela's football commentaries in the local Swahili language also defined a golden era in Kenya's football that saw local club Gor Mahia lift the 1987 African Cup Winners' Cup - the first and only continental trophy by a Kenyan club.
Parliament Speaker Moses Wetangula said he never imagined a day when ''Leonard Mambo Mbotela’s voice would fade into silence", adding that the veteran's voice was commanding across Kenya.
"For decades, his deep, commanding tone filled our airwaves, shaping conversations, instilling values, and chronicling Kenya’s journey through history" Wetangula said.
'Indelible mark'
The opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party mourned Mbotela as a laudable journalist who has left an indelible mark in the media industry.
“Mbotela’s rich legacy in the media industry spans for years. His articulation of issues and educative programs like Jee Huu Ni Uungwana and Swahili programs on KBC radio ya Taifa will forever be etched in the memory of Kenyans,” the party said in a statement.
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